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CLIFTON R. WOOLDRIDGE. 



THE DEVIL 
AND THE GRAFTER 



HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER TO DECEIVE, 
SWINDLE AND DESTROY MANKIND 

AN ARMY OF 600,000 CRIMINALS AT WAR WITH 
SOCIETY AND RELIGION 



By CLIFTON R. WOOLDRIDGE 

The World-Famous Criminologist and Detective 
" The Incorruptible Sherlock Holmes of America ' 



AFTER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF HEROIC WARFARE AND SCORES 
OF HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES, IN HIS UNCEASING BATTLE WITH 
THE DEVIL. AND THE GRAFTER, MR. WOOLDRIDGE TELLS IN 
A GRAPHIC MANNER HOW WILDCAT INSURANCE, FAKE MINES 
AND OIL WELLS, "TURF SWINDLES, HOME BUYING SWINDLES, 
FAKE BOND AND INVESTMENT COMPANIES, BUCKET SHOPS, 
BLIND POOLS IN GRAIN AND STOCKS, POOL ROOMS AND HAND 
BOOKS, FAKE MAIL ORDER HOUSES, ORDINARY GAMBLING 
HOUSES, PANEL HOUSES, MATRIMONIAL BUREAUS, FAKE UN- 
DERWRITING, FAKE BANKS, COLLECTING AGENCIES, FAKE 
MEDICINE COMPANIES, CLAIRVOYANTS, FORTUNE TELLERS, 
PALMISTS AND OTHER CRIMINALS OF ALL CLASSES OPERATE, 
AND HOW THEIR ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN BROKEN UP 
AND DESTROYED BY HUNDREDS. 

THE WORK ALSO CONTAINS 

Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge's "New-Fail" System 

For Detecting and Outwitting All Classes of 
Grafters and Swindlers. 



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LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Cooles Received 
MAY 20 1907 

Oojsynarht Entry 

CL*SS CL XXc, No. 

/ 

OPY 



Copyright, 1907, 

BY 

CLIFTON R. WOOLDRIDGE 



"There are so many 'Get-Rich-Quick' operators at present that com- 
petition between them has become fierce. They are now infesting the entire 
country with local solicitors, who frequent saloons, hotels, and even resi- 
dence districts, where victims are found in foreigners, ignorant servant 
girls and inexperienced widows. 

"These solicitors get fifty per cent commission on all sales of stock. 
This fact in itself is evidence that the propositions are rank swindles. 
When the swindling operator finds things getting too hot he disappears 
from his office and bobs up in some new place with a new proposition." 

The above is an extract from Mr. Wooldridge's 
annual report of January 1, 1907, for the year 1906, to 

JOHN M. COLLINS, 
General Supt. of Police, Chicago, Til. 



SHERLOCK HOLMES 
IN REAL LIFE 

From The Chicago Tribune of 
November 25, 1906. 

"Chicago may be sur 
prised to learn that it has a 
Sherlock Holmes of its own, 
but it has; and before his 
actual experiences in crime- 
hunting, the fictional experi- 
ences through which Poe 
Doyle, and Nick Carter put 
their detectives pale into 
insignificance. His name is 
Clifton R. Wooldridge. 

"Truth is stranger even 
than detective fiction, and 
in the number of his adven- 
tures of mystery, danger 
and excitement he has all 
the detective heroes of fic- 
tion and reality beaten 
easily. 

"He has personally arrest- 
ed 19,500 people. 200 of 
them were sent to the pen- 
itentiary; 3,000 to the house 
of correction; 6,000 paid 
fines; 100 girls under age 
were rescued from lives of 
shame; $100,000 worth of 
property was recovered ; 100 
panel houses were closed; 
100 matrimonial bureaus 
were broken up. 




" Wooldridge has refused 
perhaps 500 bribes of from 
$500 to $5,000 each. He 
has been under fire forty- 
four times. He has been 
wounded dozens of times. 
He has impersonated almost 
every kind of character. He 
has, in his crime hunting, 
associated with members of 
the " 400 " and fraternized 
with hobos. He has dined 
with the elite and smoked 
in opium dens. He has 
done everything that one 
expects the detective of fic- 
tion to do and which the 
real detective seldom does. 

"When occasion requires 
he ceases to appear as 
Wooldridge. He can make 
a disguise so quickly and 
effectively that even an 
actor would be astonished. 
Gilded youth, negro gambler, 
honest farmer or lodging 
house ' bum,' .it requires 
but a few minutes to 'make- 
up,' to run to earth elusive 
wrong-doers." 

The pictures which appear 
here are actual photographs 
taken from life in the garb 
and disguises worn by the 
author in several famous 
cases. 



Disguised as a 
JEW IN THE GHETTO 




"HECK HOUSTON"— STOCK-RAISER FROM WYOMING 

In this garb the author makes himself an easy mark for the crooks and grafters of th* 
Stock- Yard district. The hold-up man — the card-sharp — the bunco- 
steerer — the get-rich-quick stock-broker fall " easy game " 
to the detective thus disguised. 




ASSOCIATING WITH THE STOCK AND BOND GRAFTERS 

Disguised as an Englishman who has money and is looking for a good investment, Mr. 
Wooldridge is easily mistaken for a " sucker." The trap is set. He appar- 
ently walks into it; but, in a few minutes, the grafter finds 
himself on the way to prison. 




POLICY-SAM JOHNSON 

This is a favorite disguise of the author when doing detective duty among the lowest and 

most disreputable criminals. Unsuspectingly the crooks offer him all sorts of 

dirty work at small prices for assistance in criminal acts. 




POLICY-SAM JOHNSON SHOOTING CRAPS 

An illustration of the way the detective employs himself in the gambling dens. It is often 

necessary to play and lose money in these places that he may get at the facts. 

Observe that he is watching proceedings in another part of the 

room while he is throwing the dice. 




SHADOWING ONE OF THE FOUR HUNDRED 
Some of the most dangerous grafters in the world hobnob with the elite. Here we have 
our author in evening dress, passing as a man of society at a banquet of the 
rich, shadowing a " high-flyer " crook. 




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YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE 




A GAME OF POKER FOR " A SMALL STAKE " 

This is a dangerous step. Many a ruined man traces his downfall to the day he began 
in youth to "bet" a little "to make the game interesting." 




Pearl Smith 



(Sisters) 



Emma Ford 




Mary White Flossie Moore 

FOUR FAMOUS NEGRO WOMEN GRAFTERS 

As confidence workers, highway robbers, and desperate criminals they were the terror of 

officers and courts. Together they stole and robbed people of more than $200,000.00. 

They were finally run to earth and put in prison. Our author followed 

one of them across the continent and back. 




THE DESTINATION OF THE GRAFTER 

"The way of the transgressor is hard." " Be sure your sin will find you out." 
itentiary is full of bright men who might have been eminently successful- 
honor to themselves and a blessing to mankind, if they had only 
heeded the old adage — " Honesty is the best policy." 



The pen- 
-an 




WOOLDRIDGE'S CABINET OF BURGLAR-TOOLS 

At the police headquarters in Chicago, one of the most attractive curios is the above cabinet 

of burglar-tools and weapons taken by the author from robbers and 

crooks during his eighteen years of service. 




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PUBLISHER'S PREFACE 

The two arch enemies of happiness and prosperity are the 
Devil and the Grafter. The church is fighting the Devil, the law 
is fighting the Grafter. The great mass of human beings, as they 
journey ilong the pathway of life, know not the dangers that 
lie in wait from these two sources. Honest themselves, credulous 
and innocent, they trust their fellow man. 

Statistics show that four-fifths of all young men and women, 
and nine-tenths of the widows are swindled out of the money and 
property that comes to them by inheritance. Every year thou- 
sands of laboring men spend their hard earnings and beggar their 
families by falling in traps laid for them. Thousands of innocent 
girls and women, struggling for a respectable livelihood, fall vic- 
tims to the demons who traffic in human honor. 

The Grafters spend millions upon millions of dollars annually 
in advertising in America alone. There is not a Post Office in 
the land where every mail does not carry their appeals and thiev- 
ing schemes; and they collect hundreds of millions of dollars an- 
nually from the trusting public. The State and National Govern- 
ments spend millions of dollars a year in trying to catch and curb 
these grafters. Some of satan's worst grafters are found in the 
church, v/orking the brethren; and he has them by thousands in 
every walk of life. 

The object of this book is to protect the public by joining 
hands with the church and the government in their work against 
the Devil and the Grafter. The author reveals and exposes the 
grafter with his schemes, his traps, his pitfalls and his victims. 
The reader of this book will be fortified and armed with knowl- 
edge, facts and law, that should forever protect himself, his 
family and his friends from the wiles of the grafters. 

It is with the confidence that this work fills an imperative 
need, and that it should be in the hands of every minister, every 
physician, every teacher and every mother and father in the land, 
that the author and publisher send it forth on what they believe 
to be a mission of good to the world. 



WORDS OF COMMENDATION 



From Chas. S. Deneen, Governor of Illinois: 

" It is with pleasure that I am able to say that Detective Wooldridge 
has conducted all his cases with zeal and intelligence." 

J. M. Longenecker, former State's Atto > ey, says: 

" Mr. Wooldridge has thorough knowledge of evidence and is an ex- 
pert in preparing a criminal case for trial. I have found him to be one 
of the most efficient officers in the Department." 

R. W. McClaughrey, Warden of U. S. Prison at Leavenworth, Kans., Ex- 
Warden of Illinois State Penitentiary and Ex-Chief of Police of 
Chicago, says in a letter to the author: 

" You were not only subject to bribes, but also frequently a target 
of perjurers and scoundrels of every degree. You came out from every 
ordeal unscathed, and maintained a character for integrity and fear- 
lessness in the discharge of your duties that warranted the highest com- 
mendation. It gives me pleasure to make this statement." 

J. J. Badenoch, Ex-General Supt. of Police, writing Mr. Wooldridge, says: 

" Dear Sir — Before I retire from the command of the Police Depart- 
ment, I desire to thank you for your bravery and loyal service. The 
character of your work being such that bribes are frequently offered by 
the criminal class, it becomes necessary to select men of perfect integrity 
for the purpose, and I now know that I made no mistake in selecting you 
for this trying duty. It affords me great pleasure to commend you for 
your bravery and fidelity to your duties." 

Nicholas Hunt, Inspector Commanding Second Division, says: - 

" I have known Clifton R. Wooldridge for the last ten years. As an 
officer he is par-excellent, absolutely without fear and with a detective 
ability so strongly developed it almost appealed to me as an extra sense. 
it I wanted to secure the arrest of a desperate man, I would put Mr. 
Wooldridge in charge of the case in preference to any one I know, as, 
with his bravery, he has discretion." 

Geo. M. Snippy, Chief of Police, of Chicago, writing Mr. Wooldridge, says: 
" Your heart is in the right place, and while I have always found 
you stern and persistent in the pursuit and prosecution of criminals, you 
were very kind and considerate, and I can truthfully say that more than 
one evil doer was helped to reform and was given material assistance 
by you." 

Luke P. Colleran, Chief of Detectives, says: 

" His book is most worthy and truthful and commendable; and I 
take pleasure in commending it to all." 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page 

Publishers Preface 

Words of Commendation 

Table of Contents 

The Devil and His Agents — The Grafters 

Biography of The Author 

Lecture— "What Shall America Do With Its 600,000 

Criminals?" 15 

Lecture— "The Grand Jury a Great Evil That Should Be. 

Abolished" 25 

Wild-Cat-Insurance Grafters 35 

The Bursting of The Insurance-Graft Bubble 42 

List Of Fraudulent Insurance Agencies 69 

A Year With the Grafters (1905) 76 

Methods of Robbery By Chicago Fake Concerns .... . 83 

What is a Bucket Shop? 87 

Speculation vs. Gambling 93 

Marriage Bureau Grafters and Their Schemes .96-110 

Bogus Drug Concerns 111-114 

Blackmailing-Graft Through Fake Financial Papers 115-127 

Real Estate and Loan Frauds 128 

The Fraudulent Mining Company Grafter ' . 131 

Miscellaneous Fake Schemes 139 

The Year 1906 Among Chicago Grafters 146 

Fleecing Invalids and Cripples , 166 

A Get-Rich-Quick Express Company Grafter 172 

A Soldier Robbed by The Cheap Clothes Grafter 177 

More Marriage Bureau Schemes and Experiences 186-212 

Hospital Grafters — Rachel Gorman and The Green Sisters . 216-227 

Confidence Games to Fleece Strangers in Cities . . . 228-247 

Country Fair Fakers and Their Tricks 248-252 

Policy Shop — Chinese Lotteries, etc 253-258 

Why Gambling Does Not Pay — Schemes and Tricks Ex- 
posed 259-279 



CONTENTS. 

How Educated Crooks Operate as Artists — An Interna- 
tional Story 280-308 

Honesty Not Machine Made 309 

Women as Grafters 316-343 

Fake Employment Agency Grafters And Their Methods 348 

Grafters in Fortune Telling, Clairvoyance, Mesmerism and 

Hypnotism exposed 362 

The Wire Tapping Grafter— Portraits of Principal Opera- 
tors-Methods exposed 379-402 

Identifying Criminals — The Bertillon System 403-412 

The Finger-Print System of Identification 413-422 

Fake Doctors and Their Methods of Graft Exposed 423-438 

Professional Safe Blowers and Their Method of Work 439-461 

Charity Vultures, and How Professional Beggars Live 464-468 

Ingenious Diamond Swindles — Installment Grafters, etc.. .469-475 
Counterfeit Money and Saw-dust Grafters-Methods 

Exposed 478 

Never-Fail System for Defeating The Grafter .' 483-528 



THE DEVIL AND HIS AGENTS— THE GRAFTERS 

The old adage that "money is the root of all evil" is 
emphasized in this book. This is an age of much money ; 
and in this age the people of the earth have the greatest 
passion for the getting of money that the world has 
ever known. 

The greatest money getters of the globe are the Ameri- 
can people. Hence, the Devil finds, in the United States 
of America, the most fruitful soil for the destruction of 
mankind through the influence of money. Therefore, 
in this land of ours he has the greatest number of shrewd, 
intelligent and often learned men, and women, engaged 
in his service through illegal methods of getting money, 
known as Grafting. Such people are known as "Graft- 
ers." 

It is the object and purpose of this book to show up 
the work of the Devil and the Grafter as they actually 
exist in our greatest metropolitan 'centers, from which 
are sent out, through the mails and otherwise, legitimate 
and illegitimate advertising plans and schemes, for the 
honest, or dishonest, getting of money from the people 
of every village and hamlet and community of America 
and the entire world. 

Before entering upon the real facts, as narrated in the 
book, it is proper that we should insert some pictures 
and cartoons, illustrating a few of the methods by which 
Satan does his work and destroys character by filching 
money from people, dishonestly, through his chief agents, 



the Grafters. These pictures are not intended as works 
of art, but as cartoons, whose mission is to impress 
important lessons and truths upon the minds of the 
people. 

In many of the pictures we have a representation of 
the devil in outline, for the purpose of impressing the 
reader with the fact that the miserable grafters who 
rain themselves and swindle their fellow beings out of 
millions of dollars, and leave thousands of them in des- 
perate conditions which turn them into criminals, are 
influenced by the Devil himself. They are his slaves and 
servants. As individuals they deserve sympathy. They 
may be reformed. 

The object of these pictures, as well as of the facts 
which follow in the book, is to acquaint the reader with 
the pit-falls and dangers, that he may avoid the ruin 
and destruction, which has come to thousands of his 
fellow countrymen on account of the lack of knowledge 
which this book seeks to impart. 



THE KING BEE OF SWINDLERS 




DR. S. W. JACOBS 

President of Chicago Loan & Trust Co. 



One of the most daring and successful bank grafters of the 
20th century. Arrested by the author, convicted and sent to 
the Illinois Penitentiary. 




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THE WORLD AROUSED 




LISTENING FOR THE GRAFTER. The world with its ear 
at the telephone is listening for the grafter. They are being 
detected and caught as never before. This book is intended 
to open the ears and eyes of the readers. The information it 
gives, and the warning note it sounds, should protect the people 
from the wiles of the grafters. 



BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR. 

Clifton R. Wooldridge was born February 25, 1854, 
in Franklin County, Kentucky. He received a common 
school education and then started out in the world to 
shift for himself. From 1868 to 1871 he held the posi- 
tion of shipping clerk and collector for the Washington 
Foundry in St. Louis, Missouri. Severing his connection 
with that company, he went to Washington, D. C, and 
was attached to the United States Signal Bureau from 
March 1, 1871, to December 5, 1872. He then took up 
the business of railroading, and for the following nine 
years occupied positions as fireman, brakeman, switch- 
man, conductor and general yard master. 

When the gold fever broke out in the Black Hills in 
1879, Mr. Wooldridge, along with many others, went to 
that region to better his fortune. Six months later he 
joined the engineering corps of the Denver & Rio Grande 
railroad and assisted in locating the line from Canon 
City to Leadville, as well as several of the branches. The 
work was not only difficult, but very dangerous, and at 
times, when he was assisting in locating the line through 
the Royal Gorge in the Grand Canon of the Arkansas, 
he was suspended from a rope, which ran from the peak 
of one cliff to the other, with his surveying instruments 
strapped to his back. This gorge is fifty feet wide at the 
bottom and seventy feet at the top, the walls of solid rock 
rising three thousand feet above the level of the river 
below. The work was slow and required a great deal of 
skill, but it was accomplished successfully. 



Mr. Wooldridge went to Denver in 1880 and engaged 
in contracting and mining the following eighteen months. 
He then took a position as engineer and foreman of the 
Denver Daily Republican, where he remained until May 
29, 1883. The following August he came to Chicago 
and took a position with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul railway. In 1886 he severed his connection with the 
railroad and founded the "Switchman's Journal." He 
conducted and edited the paper until May 26th, when he 
was burned out, together with the firm of Donahue & 
Henneberry at the corner of Congress street and Wabash 
avenue, as well as many other business houses in that lo- 
cality, entailing a total loss of nearly $1,000,000. Thus 
the savings of many years were swept away, leaving him 
penniless and in debt. He again turned his attention to 
railroading and secured a position with the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy railroad and had accumulated enough 
money to pay the indebtedness which resulted from the 
fire, when the great strike was inaugurated on that road 
in February, 1888. The strike included the engineers, 
firemen and switchmen, and continued nearly a year. On 
October 5th of that year Mr. Wooldridge made applica- 
tion for a position on the Chicago police force, and hav- 
ing the highest endorsements, he was appointed and as- 
signed to the Desplaines Street Station. It was soon dis- 
covered that Wooldridge as a police officer had no supe- 
riors and few equals. Neither politics, religion, creed, 
color, or nationality obstructed him in the performance 
of his police duties, and the fact was demonstrated and 
conceded times without number that he could not be 
bought, bribed, or intimidated. He selected for his motto, 



"Right wrongs no man; equal justice to all." His supe- 
rior officers soon recognized the fact that no braver, more 
honest or efficient police officer ever wore a star or car- 
ried a club. 

The mass of records on file in the police headquarters 
and in the office of the clerk of the criminal court demon- 
strate conclusively that he has made one of the most re- 
markable' records of any police officer in the department. 
Up to and including January, 1906. Mr. Wooldridge 
saw over thirty years of experience and training in act- 
ive police work. Ten years of this time he was located 
in what is commonly known as the Levee district, a ter- 
ritory where criminals congregate and where crimes of 
all degrees are committed. The following brief synopsis 
shows the work performed by him : 

During his service on the police force he made 18,000 
arrests, the name, date, charge and disposition of each 
case being accurately kept by him. Of these arrests, 2,000 
were made on criminal charges, and 150 of these were 
convicted and sent to the state penitentiary, 2,000 were 
sent to the House of Correction, while 8,000 paid fines, 
and the others received jail sentences. During this time 
re recovered lost and stolen property to the value of 
$100,000, which was returned to the owners through him 
and the department. Seventy-five girls under age were 
rescued by him from houses of ill-fame and a life of 
shame, and returned to their parents or guardians, or 
sent to the Juvenile School or the House of the Good 
Shepherd. He closed and broke up fifty opium joints, 
and in the year 1896 closed fifty-two panel houses that 
were then in operation on the levee. During the months 



of October and December, 1898, he closed twenty houses 
cf_- prostitution on Michigan avenue, and in the same 
months closed and broke up forty-five panel houses. In 
October, 1899, twenty-eight panel house keepers were, 
through the efforts of Mr. Wooldridge, indicted and con- 
victed. This last stroke broke up entirely the panel house 
business in Chicago. 

Mr. Wooldridge's criminal knowledge of this class of 
people, which came through his contact with them daily, 
made him one of the most valuable officers in the depart- 
ment. It is well known in police circles that he has re- 
fused at different times bribes of from $500 to $4,000. He 
has in his library a scrapbook containing clippings of city 
papers and police bulletins giving him credit for criminal 
arrests and convictions, recovery of stolen property and 
meritorious conduct, which will cover a space of 500 
square feet. 

As a further testimonial to his worth and efficiency as 
a police officer, "Mr. Wooldridge has complimentary let- 
ters from eight general superintendents of police, three 
assistant general superintendents of police, six inspectors, 
six captains, nine lieutenants, six police justices, and three 
states' attorneys. He also has letters from the superin- 
tendent of the National Bureau of Identification and the 
superintendent of the local Bureau of Identification, be- 
sides a letter from the mayor of Chicago, Carter H. Har- 
rison, and from the Chief of Detectives, Luke P. Col- 
leran. 

Mr. Wooldridge has during the past few years been 
working out of the office of the General Superintendent 
of Police. He has had charge of a detail of officers in 



many important cases, ajaong which may be mentioned 
the great building trades strike of 1900, in which 60,000 
men were thrown out of employment. He also had 
charge of a detail of men in the Railway Men's Union 
strike of 1894, in which he performed valiant services 
and prevented the destruction of much property. Many 
other similar cases might be mentioned, such as being at 
the head of a force to suppress gambling, pool selling and 
serious infractions of the law, in all of which cases he 
secured results which were so satisfactory to the city 
administration and police department that he has been 
continued on duty from the office of the Chief of Police 
ever since. 

At one time while he was serving the city as a patrol- 
man he was recommended by his superior officers for the 
Carter H. Harrison medal for meritorious services on 
account of saving the lives of five persons from a fire, 
which occurred at a Clark street hotel. He has been un- 
der fire from criminals, whom he has attempted to arrest, 
innumerable times, and bears the scars and marks of 
many conflicts with desperate men. His life has been 
threatened hundreds of times and many conspiracies have 
been made to kill him, but in all cases he has escaped 
serious injuries, and it is sometimes said in the police de- 
partment that he bears a charmed life. 

Since 1902 Mr. Wooldridge has been assigned to spe- 
cial investigations answering foreign correspondence di- 
rected to the General Superintendent of Police, and has 
had charge of the Swindlers and Get-Rich-Ouick enter- 
prises operated in Chicago. . 

Francis O'Neill, General Superintendent of the Chi- 



c~go Police Department, says in his annual report of 
1905 : 

Mr. Wooldridge, "I have a very high opinion of him 
and of his general efficiency. I do not know of any man 
in the service to-day who can at all compare with him in 
the ferreting out of swindling and so-called 'get-rich' 
concerns. He accomplished more in the last twelve 
months than the whole department has in a lifetime be- 
fore in that line of work." 

Never in the history of the city has such a successful 
and relentless war been waged on so-called "get-rich- 
quick" schemes, such as matrimonial agencies or mar- 
riage bureaus, lotteries, fake employment agencies, turf 
commissioners, fake charity homes, "wild-cat" insurance 
companies, adulterated and spurious drug enterprises, 
and some other miscellaneous swindles. 

Long exemption from interference by postal or police 
officials rendered Chicago a fruitful field for concerns of 
the character named. Alluring advertisements in news- 
papers and periodicals with fascinating "literature" to 
beguile the greedy and credulous, caught dupes without 
number. One clever, pertinacious police officer, Clifton 
R. Wooldridge by name, working under my instructions, 
played havoc with their operations, and notwithstanding 
the pleadings and protests of the schemers and their at- 
torneys, the law was found to be practical and compre- 
hensive enough to put them out of business and into 
jail. 



What Shall America Do with its 600,000 Criminals? 



ONLY 75,000 OF THEM INCARCERATED, WHILE THE 
OTHER 525,000 ARE DAILY TEMPTED TO PREY ON SO- 
CIETY. 

JAILS ANNUALLY MAKING 50,000 TRAINED EXPERTS 
IN CRIME BECAUSE OF INEFFICIENT PENAL METH- 
ODS. 

MERE TEMPORARY CAGING, AS IF THEY WERE 
BEASTS, FAILS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. 

INVESTIGATION SHOWS THAT EDUCATED MEN ARE 
LESS LIABLE TO COMMIT CRIME THAN THE UNEDU- 
CATED. 

Statistics show that there are 600,000 criminals in this 
country, and that only 75,000 of them are incarcerated. 
Of this 600,000 one-third are under 20 years of age, one- 
half under 21 years of age, and the chances are that all 
of them will continue criminals through the remainder 
of their lives. It is plain that the ranks of the criminals 
are recruited from young persons, and it is this fact that 
makes the question, What shall we do with our criminals ? 
such an important one. 

We are .all subjected to temptation, and, whether we 
yield or resist, are conscious of an inward conflict. Most 
good men recall crises in their lives where the turning 
aside from an alluring sin saved them from a career 
of evil, while the most desperate criminals can remem- 
ber yielding to some one temptation that started them 

15 



1G AMERICA'S 600.000 CRIMINALS 

upon a course of crime. It is this universal personal 
knowledge of ourselves that renders attractive to many 
of us narratives of criminal doing, even of the most 
atrocious nature. The man of 40 who kills another 
would have recoiled in horror from a like suggestion if 
it had been made to him at 20, while at 10 he only de- 
cided to disobey his mother after the severest struggle 
of his life. In other words, men fall into criminal lines 
by gradations, which are swift or slow, according to the 
weakness of their moral natures. 

HEREDITY MAKES MANY CRIMINALS. 

' In this connection the question of heredity presents 
itself. That some are born with a predisposition to 
virtue, wnile others nossess an inherent tendency towards 
evil, is too well established and too generally recognized 
to admit of doubt or warrant discussion. Why some 
are born with an inclination to live in accordance with 
the laws of God, while others, from their cradles, manifest 
decided predilections for wrong doing and crime it is not 
given us to know, yet such is the undoubted psychological 
fact. 

After -all, this distinction is only relative. Many men 
have successfully fought an inherited tendency to evil, 
lived virtuous lives, and died triumphant deaths, while 
no end of people, notably well endowed, have entered 
upon evil courses and gone down to destruction. 

* * 

JAILS MAKE 50,000 CRIMINALS A YEAR. 

If the jails and lockups in our country — 4,000 or 5,000 
in number — are in truth, as they have been often aptly 



PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS IDENTIFIED 17 

termed, in most cases compulsory schools of crime, main- 
tained at the public expense, we shall have from this 
quarter alone an accession to the criminal classes in each 
decade of perhaps 50,000 trained experts in crime. 
Surely, almost any change in dealing with the young, 
with the beginners in lawbreaking, would be an improve- 
ment on the prevailing system. Jails and prisons, so 
constructed and managed as to keep separate their in- 
mates, would afford an adequate remedy for the evil. 
Until this can be done it would be far better to cut 
down largely the number of arrests and committals of the 
young. 

Professional pickpockets, burglars, and thieves, thor- 
oughly known as such by police detectives, are in all 
the large cities plying their vocations. They haunt all 
great assemblies. Recently on an occasion in Chicago 
that drew multitudes to that city in a day over eighty 
professional criminals were identified, arrested, and held 
in custody several days until the crowds dispersed to 
their homes. No specific crime could be proved against 
them. They were released without prosecution ; but, of 
course, no suits for false imprisonment were brought 
against the officers who detained them. 

* * 

EDUCATION A CRIME CURE. 

Education is an important factor in the treatment of 
criminals. Investigation shows that the educated are 
sixteen times less liable to commit crime than the. unedu- 
cated. Out of 599 criminals selected at random in a 
New York prison 51 knew absolutely nothing, 34 could 
barely read, 214 could barely read and write a letter, 



18 AMERICA'S 600,000 CRIMINALS 

211 were reasonably well educated, 49 had attended 
high schools and colleges, and but one was a college 
graduate. 

The professional criminal belongs in prison, where 
he should be kept at work earning an honest living. 
He should be kept there until he is cured of his crim- 
inal habits if it keeps him a convict until the end of 
his life. There is ample scope for the indulgence of 
human feeling and the practice of charity in dealing 
with our brothers, the criminals, in testing days cf 
temptation and peril, when we see our convicts passing 
out of the safety of the prison into the dangers of free- 
dom. What has society, what has the law, what has 
the individual done to protect and encourage the ex- 
convict on his discharge from imprisonment? 

The chief difficulty is not in the way, but in the will, 
to accomplish the desired result. Merit, ability, expe- 
rience ought to be the controlling consideration in all 
appointments of prison officers. Mere partisan appoint- 
ments corrupt the prison. Society should take up the 
subject and see that its representatives and agents who 
make and execute the laws shall understand and do their 
whole duty with respect to the cause of crime and the 
treatment of the criminals. 

REAL CRIME IS A DISEASE. 

Real crime is a disease, or, rather, crime is the symp- 
tom of a subtle disease of brain and nerves, just as a 
rash is in some cases a symptom of fever. All of those 
who are criminals — and in this list I place the ancient 
conquerors, the gentleman adventurers, the burglar, the 



CRIME IS CONTAGIOUS 19 

counterfeiter, the swindler, the priest of high finance — ■ 
all of those who are tinged with the evil — all of those 
who are criminals — I say have the disease. There are 
epidemics of crime ; certainly crime moves in waves. 
There are epidemics of various forms, as there are epi- 
demics of smallpox or measles. There are criminals who 
are always criminals of one kind — social cancer, social 
consumptives. 

Crime is contagious. I have seen honest, law abiding 
men turn within a fortnight to criminals. I have seen 
others in whom the course of the inoculation was slower. 
The only way to abolish crime is to treat it as a disease. 
Society standing with clutched skirts and shrinking from 
its contaminating touch, never will reform the criminal. 

Crime, its causes, its results, and its treatment are iii 
a real and deep sense part of the business of every com- 
munity and of all its members. 



PRISONERS TREATED IN WRONG WAY. 

The beneficent influence of local, state, and national 
society upon prisons and prison discipline and manage- 
ment are plainly visible in many states, but, after all, 
it is safe to say that a large majority of the prisoners 
accused or convicted of crime in the United States are 
dealt with in defiance of just and wise principles in these 
four vital particulars: 

First — The young and thoughtless, the beginners in 
law breaking, and accidental criminals suspected of guilt 
are arrested and lodged in city prisons or county jails 
and there detained for trial, huddled together with old 



20 AMERICA'S 600,000 CRIMINALS 

and hardened offenders, to be educated and trained in 
the whole art and mystery of criminal life. 

Second — Professional criminals are sentenced for short 
terms, according to the supposed enormity of their re- 
spective crimes, and at the end of their terms are sent 
fortn to prey upon society and to instruct others to lead 
lives of infamy and of hostility to the welfare of the 
public. 

Third — Prisoners are discharged at the end of their 
terms under such circumstances that the chances are ex- 
convicts, with all the world against them, will be com- 
pelled to make a living by a return to their old way and 
be confirmed in their enmity to the well-being and good 
order of society. 

Fourth — Our prisons in many if not most cases are 
under wardens and other prison officers who hold their 
places as political appointments, liable to be renewed with- 
out regard to qualifications or experience on merely 
partisan considerations. 

These four pregnant facts, even if no other causes 
were in operation, would sufficiently explain the increase 
of crime in the United States. 



EX-CONVICT S ROLE HARD. 

Under the present system, in all the states, a pris- 
oner at the expiration of his term is set adrift with a 
new cheap suit of ready made clothes, a railroad ticket 
to the nearest city, and a few dollars in his pocket. He 
is to start out again in life. He must earn a livelihood. 
He must obtain employment. The accident of his future 



HARDSHIPS OF RELEASED CRIMINALS 2i 

may Ire determined by many causes. Whether it shall 
be good or bad depends upon numerous chances. 

How many graduates of Harvard or Yale, dropped 
upon the world in such a fashion, with all the benefits 
in" character, ability, and reputation college life can give 
them, with no friends except such as beckon them to 
haunts of vice and criminal ways of earning a living, 
would get through the next two years without being com- 
pelled to beg, borrow or steal? How, then, can you 
expect the discharged prison convict, with the finest of 
good resolutions (as many have), but with no> satis- 
factory references as to previous employment, with no 
friends of whom he can borrow, intoxicated with the 
sudden sense of freedom, to avoid the commission of 
new crimes before he can earn an honest living? 



PITY AND SENTIMENT WRONG. 

The convict on emerging from prison should be no 
more an object of pity than when he entered its doors. 
The taint on his life is a part of his punishment. It 
is not only for himself but for the protection of society, 
of mankind, that the future of the criminal should be 
a matter of sincere and lasting interest. It is cheaper 
and better for society that he should be made a good 
man than that he should continue as an outlaw, under 
police surveillance, causing further trouble and expense 
in the administration of justice — an expensive future in- 
mate of prisons. To reform criminals is a great and 
beneficent work for the criminal, but in a larger sense 
for society. 



22 AMERICA'S 600,000 CRIMINALS 

The system of indeterminate sentences has been a 
theme of discussion by all who have an interest in this 
department of social science. The system implies a sen- 
tence on conviction that should not be for a limited term, 
as now provided by the criminal law, but a sentence 
which shall expire on the determination of some proper 
authority that the convict has suffered punishment enough 
to atone for the offense and to insure future good con- 
duct so far as it can be insured by punishment for past 
misconduct. With the system is associated a plan for 
the release of prisoners on parole for a period of pro- 
bation to be fixed according to the circumstances of the 
case. 

The transformation of the criminal into a serviceable 
member of society is the only effective protection of 
society against crime. The mere temporary caging of 
the criminal as a wild beast is a protection to society for 
the time being, but if when he is let out of his cage he 
is worse than when he went in he may be more wary 
and cunning thereafter, but he will be more dangerous 
to society than before. 

LAW AND THE RICH THEIR FOES. 

Many men are born criminals and early in life come 
to look upon the officer of the law as a natural foe and 
well to do class as natural prey. As the representatives 
of this class grow older and their ability develops they 
aspire to the higher walks in the profession, and finally 
come to look upon small thefts with contempt and com- 
mon thieves with scorn. They will spend a whole year 
in planning a big robbery. Then there is the great com-* 



HABITUAL CRIMINALS 23 

mercial criminal. He generally winds up his career 
abroad and remains deaf to all persuasions to return 
to the scene of his exploits. He is generally well bred 
and highly esteemed,, and, as a rule, started low down 
on the ladder. He will enter a large house, work hard 
for a small salary, and eventually be promoted to the 
position which enables him to decamp with a large sum 
of money. The reflection raised by his exploits is that 
it would perhaps be the better plan for corporations and 
firms to pay better salaries and secure better men. 



PROBLEM OF HABITUAL CRIMINALS. 

What is the habitual criminal and what should be 
done with him? He is a man whose life is devoted to 
warring upon society. He is an enemy to every good 
citizen and imperils the peace, happiness, life, and prop- 
erty of those among whom he lives. A man who com- 
mits a single offense may or may not be fixed in evil 
purposes. The second offense tends to show that he be- 
longs to the criminal class, and has determined to live 
by criminal pursuits. When, having committed two of- 
fenses and served two sentences in prison, he commits 
a third similar offense, it is a fair presumption that, not 
having been deterred by his previous imprisonments and 
not having been reformed by his experiences, he has 
fully determined to follow a criminal life. If so, what 
should be done with him ? 

Moderate sentences having produced no good effect 
upon him, either to deter or reform, why should he not 
be taken permanently out of society and put where he 



24 AMERICA'S 600,000 CRIMINALS 

cannot harm others, or wrong himself, by committing 
crime? No objection can be raised to this method. The 
property owner is certainly safer when such a man is shut 
up and the man himself loses nothing except his liberty, 
a thing upon which he places so little value that he 
throws away his chance of keeping it. Why should not 
the state take his estimate of the value of his liberty 
and take it away when he misuses it? 

The seeming severity of a law of this kind is miti- 
gated by a provision for the release oflhe prisoner when 
he shall be thought to be reformed. It remains for him 
to so use his opportunities as to prove that he has re- 
formed, and thereby earned his own release. 

The failure of prosecuting officers to avail themselves 
of the habitual criminal law should not be used as an 
argument against the law, but, rather, for additional 
legislation to compel its enforcement. The principle un- 
derlying it is sound, and a use of the law would be for 
the benefit of the community. 



THE GRAND JURY A GREAT EVIL THAT 
SHOULD BE ABOLISHED. 



The Creation of a Board or Commission of Crim- 
inal Experts Recommended, 



Thousands of Persons Indicted and Branded as 
Felons Where Evidence of Guilt is Lacking. 



My observations and experiences as a police officer 
and detective in dealing with men and women accused 
of crime have extended over many years, and with many 
of our best students of criminology who have carefully 
studied the workings of the penal code in its application 
to crime, I have come to the conclusion that before any 
lasting reform can be obtained our present methods of 
dealing with criminals must be entirely changed. 

There are so many weaknesses in the present meth- 
od of criminal procedure that it is difficult to know 
just where to begin. 

But, that my plan may be clearly understood and ap- 
pear more feasible, I recommend first of all: 

The abolition of the Grand Jury system and all of 
its accessories. I know this is a radical step and I 
must give my reasons for it as clearly and cogently as 
possible. A great evil needs radical treatment. 

The body known as the Grand Jury has come down 
to us through many generations. Its roots are found 
firmly imbedded in the Roman code. It may be well 



26 THE GRAND JURY AN EVIL 

to know that the Grand Jury system is not an absolute 
necessity. At the present moment it is nothing more 
than the vermiform apendix of the State's Attorney's 
office. And as it needs heroic treatment, it should be 
abolished without delay. The remedy is excision. Cut 
it out. The Grand Jury seldom takes original jurisdic- 
tion in matters that affect society at large, although it 
has the power to do so. In this county it simply exists 
for the benefit of the State's Attorney. It is his agency. 
The Grand Jury was abolished in several of the states 
many years ago, and it is now abolished, in whole or 
in part, in Wisconsin, Oregon, Wyoming, South Dakota, 
Washington and California. 

In some countries, for example, Scotland, there is no 
Grand Jury. The work of preparing indictments 
against law breakers is done by a paid official called the 
Procurator Fiscal. He and his assistants make a thor- 
ough investigation of the acts of every person against 
whom charges are made. If there is found a just cause 
for indictment the courts proceed against the accused. 
If the charges are baseless that is the end of the matter 
and the county is saved the expense of further litiga- 
tion. 

In the United States grand juries are usually made 
up of rich men. Whatever else the Grand Jury may be 
in our country districts, it is certainly not a representa- 
tive body in our cities, as it is almost entirely composed 
of men of wealth, and has little or no sympathy with 
the common people. The work it does at present could 
be much better done by a Board of Criminal Experts 
with enlarged powers. The Grand Jury is an antiquated 
institution, no more necessary to the administration of 



BIG CRIMINALS GO UNPUNISHED 27 

criminal law in our day than are the feudal barons of 
ten centuries ago. 

The Grand Jurors spend about four hours a day at- 
tending to whatever public business the State's Attor- 
ney lays before them. Very often this aristocratic 
body is unable to give more* than live minutes of its 
time to the finding of an indictment that may brand a 
man for life as a felon. If the State's Attorney sees fit 
he may permit a single individual to go before the 
Grand Jury and give his evidence respecting the guilt 
or innocence of a certain person charged with a crime, 
although the person may not possess one particle of 
evidence. 

Under a paid board of criminal experts, sitting daily 
from 10 a. m. till 5 p. m., and who are there to investi- 
gate, sift and go to the bottom of things generally, the 
rich and the poor would have a better chance of having 
justice meted out to them than at present. 

A very common opinion, which is gaining ground 
every day, and is in some respects true, is that big 
criminals go unpunished, while others who are lawfully 
convicted of crime command such influence with the 
courts or high political powers, that they are liable to 
obtain their freedom by parole or pardon, or get off 
with a very light sentence. 

Others, after being lawfully convicted of crime, are 
able to cheat the prison, provided they have money to 
fight their cases in the higher courts and thus obtain 
new trials, which in the end mean acquittal. All this 
tends towards a contempt for our courts and occasional- 
ly incites the people to take the law into their own 
hands. We have too many indictments and too few 



28 THE GRAND JURY AN EVIL 

convictions. Millions of dollars of the people's money 
are wasted each year on cases where there is no chance 
of conviction. The courts are cumbered with thousands 
of cases that should not be sent to them. 

A study of the statistics of convictions in proportion 
to arrests ; of convictions in proportion to indictments, 
and finally, of the proportion of the convicted that 
ultimately go to prison, would prove interesting. 

There is no way to ascertain the number of innocent 
persons indicted, but if we could know the facts the num- 
ber would be appalling. How could it be otherwise, 
when the Grand Jury hurries through the business it has 
to perform ; when the Grand Jurors themselves are not 
competent authorities in criminal matters, and when 
efficiency in the work of prosecution is measured rather 
by the total number of persons indicted than by the per- 
centage of persons sent to prison out of those indicted. 
The fault lies with the whole system. The Grand Jury 
does as did other Grand Juries ; the State's Attorney does 
as did his predecessors. 

But what shall we do about it? It is too serious a 
matter to be lightly passed over or relegated to the rear 
as an insoluble problem. It is true we have few real 
statesmen in our Legislatures. Nearly all of them are 
machine politicians. They vote oftener in the interest of 
party than for the public welfare. And many of them, 
alas ! are in the business for revenue only. 

When our legislators do wake up and reform our 
code of criminal precedure I sincerely hope due regard 
will be given to the importance of the scientific classi- 
fication of crime. Many a person who has been sent 
to State's Prison has been more in need of a physician 



BOARD OF CRIMINAL EXPERTS 29 

than a jailer. More criminals come out of prison than 
enter the gates, for under our present system we send to 
our penal institutions offenders who really are not crim- 
inals, but who become criminals by association. 

My plan for a Board of Criminal Experts, to assume 
all the present powers of the Grand Jury, and in addi- 
tion, to classify criminals, would embrace five persons 
— two experienced lawyers, two physicians or alienists 
and one business man. These five men should pass 
upon criminal cases first, and when they find an in- 
dictment, give the proper classification to the accused. 

Criminals should be classed under one of the four 
general heads, as follows: (i) The insane; (2) the 
mental and industrial illiterate; (3) the born criminal, 
and (4) the victim of circumstance. 

I have not used the word dependent in this classifi- 
cation, as it is too indefinite. An insane person or a 
pauper or a cripple may be dependent according to 
some classifiers. I prefer to use my own division 
under the four general heads named, into which all 
criminals may readily be placed. 

If the board finds that the accused is or was mentally 
unbalanced or really insane, when the crime was com- 
mitted, the procedure should be to immediately recom- 
mend to the court that the person indicted be sent to 
an asylum or sanitarium for treatment, and kept there 
until entirely cured. No legal delay, with consequent 
unnecessary expense, should be tolerated. 

If the prisoner recovers his sanity he should be re- 
turned and examined by the Board of Experts. They 
have the records and all the facts in his case and after 



30 GRAND JURY AN EVIL 

considering them carefully could recommend his dis- 
charge ; or, if they think best, put him en trial. 

Second, if the board finds that the wrong-doer be- 
longs to the second class, that he is illiterate and has 
no trade ; or that he is lazy, and a good for nothing 
idler, preying upon his fellowmen for a living; or that 
he is tainted with some physical malady ; or is suffering 
from tubercular trouble, epilepsy, dipsomania, or any 
progressive disorder; then the board can recommend 
to the court that such a subject is fit for the reform- 
atory, or some other institution of a similar character, 
where he will receive mental, moral and industrial 
training, besides medical treatment, and be dis- 
charged only when cured and fit afterward to live an 
honest and law-abiding life. There are hundreds of 
industrial and mental illiterates who pass through our 
courts every year — young men who because of the im- 
providence of their parents and the omission of society 
to provide for their economic education, never learned 
a trade and can hardly write their own names. 

The only way to save these youths from criminal 
lives is to educate them and discharge them from 
prison only when cured. It is a waste of time to send 
such persons to State's Prison or Penitentiary, as more 
than 50 per cent return again, after a brief season of 
liberty, confirmed criminals. Many of our prisons re- 
ceive yearly as high as 82 per cent of first offenders, 
who have no trade. 

Third, it is a well known fact that more than half 
of our criminal population is composed of backslid- 
ers in crime. A great wrong is committed against the 
community when we send a criminal away for a del- 



CRIME ON THE INCREASE 31 

inite period and afterward turn him loose upon the 
community. 

If the offender is known as a rounder or habitual 
criminal, by all means send him to a prison colony and 
keep him there for the remainder of his life, or till 
cured. Our criminal population grows yearly and we 
are compelled to build new prisons and reformatories, 
simply because our penalogieal pleas are impracticable, 
if not archaic. Not only are we making no progress 
in our efforts to check criminality, but crime is on the 
increase. 

Perhaps it ought to be said that an habitual or pro- 
fessional criminal is one who lives scientifically or sys- 
tematically on thievery or fraud, without working, and 
whose acquisitive instincts are neither scared nor terri- 
fied by the fear of punishment for wrong doing. 

How to cure such criminals and make them self- 
supporting is one of the questions that has been agitat- 
ing the authorities in this country and Europe for 
many years past. 

Crime is largely a matter of suggestion, and there- 
fore, if all the habitual criminals in the country were 
segregated where their influence would no longer be 
able to exert itself, crime would not propagate itself 
so fast. The young would not have presented to them 
so often or so forcibly the example which causes most 
of them to take the crooked path. Thus the expense 
of prevention would be enormously -diminished at once. 

With segregated criminals supporting themselves as 
they might be made to do under our plan, the enor- 
mous cost of penitentiaries would, at one step, be done 
away with. A penal colony such as we propose would 



32 GRAND JURY AN EVIL 

be placed in such a situation that the convicts could be 
compelled to raise every bit of food they put into their 
mouths, and every article of clothing they wear. 

Out in one of the western states or territories a res- 
ervation might be made of several thousand acres of 
land, around the rim of which the convicts could be 
made to build a great wall, shutting themselves away 
from the rest of the world. Within this area would be 
built in the same way habitations, and habitual crim- 
inals would live there, tilling the soil and manufactur- 
ing their necessities, until death. The time will come 
when this plan will be carried out. The law-abiding 
citizens of the United States will not continue forever to 
be taxed enormously for the support of a class of persons 
who are enemies of public order and decency. 

The last class mentioned in this classification is the 
criminal by stress of circumstances. This man may 
have snatched a pocketbook from the hand of a lady; 
or have stolen a loaf of bread when his wife was sick 
at home and his children crying for food. Such a 
person should not be branded as a criminal. He should 
be paroled on his good behavior. To send such a per- 
son to prison is simply to make a criminal of him. 
Nearly all the prisons within recent years have be- 
come nothing less than schools of vice, from which 
young men are graduated into crime. 

When a person comes out of such a place after serv- 
ing his sentence he is tenfold worse a criminal than 
ever before. Our prisons and houses of refuge need a 
thorough overhauling in teaching and management by 
someone who will combine in his necessary qualifica- 
tions, firmness and love. Anyone who has started on a 



THE LAWS ARE ADEQUATE 33 

life of crime should -be kept in prison till cured of his 
delusions. Anything short of this is a waste of the tax- 
payers' money and a crime against society. 

Our State has been in the business of punishing 
criminals for more than a hundred years, during which 
time millions of dollars have been wasted. Let us try 
classification, then endeavor to cure criminals or re- 
strain them until they are fit to associate with the law- 
abiding people of the Nation. This is real prison re- 
form. 

I think under the dominion of such a Board of Crim- 
inal Experts as suggested, there would be fewer in- 
dictments, but more convictions. We would need fewer 
courts ; the officers would have fewer prisoners ; we 
would save millions of dollars yearly, and, immeasur- 
ably more important than all of these considerations, 
we would come nearer to doing justice than we do 
today under the Grand Jury system. 

The laws now on the statute books are adequate, if 
enforced, to clear the cities of crime. 

The laws for the punishment and for the prevention 
of crime cover every possible case of injury to the com- 
munity or to the individual. Not only are penalties 
provided but an elaborate machinery is created in order 
that the penalty may be applied. Failure to do one's 
duty in this regard is a sufficient reason for removal 
from office as well as for punishment by fine. 

The duty of the citizen toward the law is fourfold. 
It is his duty to secure the election of honest, fearless, 
and incorruptible officials. It is his duty to aid the of- 
ficers of the law whenever called upon, and in case he 



34 THE DUTY OF CITIZENS 

is the witness of a criminal offense and no sworn officer 
is present, he himself becomes under the law an officer 
with power to arrest and turn over to the police with- 
out a warrant, the person who committed the crime. 

It is the duty of the honest citizen to aid in the or- 
ganizaion of all forces for hostility to vice ; so that crim- 
inals shall be afraid to remain within reach of the 
clutches of the law, and officials from the mayor or the 
sheriff, down to the police officer, shall be afraid to 
stand idly by and declare the law to be a dead letter. 

And last of all, when all other help fails, it is the 
duty of the citizen himself to set in motion the machin- 
ery of the law to remove from office and otherwise pun- 
ish in exemplary fashion those unfaithful public serv- 
ants to whose negligence or corrupt connivance evil 
conditions are due. 

No citizen has a right to complain that the laws are 
inadequate until he has exhausted the means provided 
by statute to control crime. 

There -are only two agencies for the suppression and 
repression of crime, viz. : moral suasion and punish- 
ment. The first we can safely leave to the Juvenile 
Court and probation officers, the second should receive 
the serious consideration of all good citizens, as well 
as of all members of the police force. 



Wild-Cat-liisiirance Grafters 




T is not a pleasant duty to drag men from 
mansions and plush carpeted offices and 
consign them to the horrors of the peni- 
tentiary, but when the public interest de- 
mands it the exchange from purple and fine 
linen to a felon's stripes becomes imperative. When 
men are found basking in luxury begotten of fraud 
they must be transplanted to the other extreme, pro- 
vided by society for its erring members. Chicago but 
•recently has seen the end of such a process, which fur- 
nishes one of the most dramatic chapters in the finan- 
cial history of the United States. 

The story is one involving millions of stolen dollars, 
of heartless commercial brigandage, of brutal filching 
from the poor, and finally the running to earth by a 
policeman of the buccaneers of business, numbering 
hundreds, who for years had preyed upon the unpro- 
tected public. 

For, of all the swindles ever perpetrated that of 
"Wild Cat" insurance was the vilest. Not only did 
this system divert from the legitimate business chan- 
nels of a city the enormous sum of $500,000 annually ; 
the solid interests could well afford to lose that 
amount. It was the source whence this vast loot was 
abstracted that caused loathing in the minds of honest 
men. Unlike "Get-rich-quick" schemers of the ordi- 



36 

nary type, the "Wildcatters" did not promise some- 
thing for nothing. Neither did they hold forth bland- 
ishments to their victims by which to deceive them as 
to the real nature of their business. 

Instead, they proceeded in the ordinary way, along 
lines apparently so legitimate that the most conserva- 
tive were deceived. True, experts in their particular 
line of business scouted far ahead of their more easy- 
going brethren and reported impending disaster, but 
the masses with whom they dealt were not experts. 
It was not until a shrewd, silent member of the Chi- 
cago police force, unimpeachable and determined to 
stamp out wrong where he found it, burst into their 
camp and with physical force dragged them before the 
bar of justice that these past masters of imposture 
were given their dues. 

As a prelude to the more romantic details an outline 
of the situation from a purely business standpoint, 
written by the Chicago representative of one of the 
big commercial agencies, is given below: 

"Perhaps no interest in Chicago has been so hard 
hit during the last few years as the fire insurance line. 
Those at a distance have not understood the situation, 
and those on the spot have not all at once realized a 
drastic evolution, current with loss and serious men- , 
ace, that has cleared the air at a critical time. Briefly: 
The direct losses co home companies in such instances 
as the Baltimore and Rochester fires, where all normal 
calculations as to conflagrational hazard were dis- 
rupted, constituted a set-back so unexpected that only 
the surplus of fat years saved the day. Marked con- 



37 

servatism in both home and foreign companies has 
eventuated, so that to-day surplus lines go begging on 
the street, giving rise to a new industry — 'The Insur- 
ance Specialist' — who reluctantly defines his province 
as furnishing fire insurance to persons who cannot get 
fire insurance at any price on the open market. 

"It is this surplus line business that has cost Chi- 
cago millions of dollars in premiums. From the 
shadow oi its baneful influence the legitimate agencies 
are, self-confessedly, just creeping out. The abuse of 
a primarily meritorious proposition has nearly de- 
stroyed its legitimate use. This has happened: Be- 
ginning with 1900 there came to the surface in Chicago 
within eighteen months something like 185 'Lloyds' 
concerns. 

"These associations had no legal standing, were not 
amenable to corporate laws and based promises and 
prospects on the success of English Lloyds combina- 
tions. Any irresponsible broker could select a high- 
sounding name, list ten so-called underwriters and 
launch into business. 

'They scheduled no appreciable resources, though 
quoting the bulk financial responsibility of the under- 
writers, in some instances persons of means. These 
concerns advertised all over the country, cutting rates 
and issuing policies apparently modeled after the New 
York standard form, but containing specious hidden 
clauses likely to defeat indemnity in case of a fire loss. 
The underwriters could withdraw at any time. Their 
responsibility was specifically restricted in the con- 
tracts and the rule was to contest everything, pay only 



38 WILD-CAT-INSURANCE GRAFTERS 

small losses and go out of business when suits became 
too numerous. 

WRITES SIXTY MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. 

"One broker, conducting six of these concerns at va- 
rious addresses, is said to have written the enormous 
total of $60,000,000 worthless insurance in one year. 
Another failed with $80,000 fire losses and no visible 
assets and the assumption is that misinformed and 
ignorant small insurers at a distance paid annual toll 
to this industry in Chicago alone to the tune of 
$500,000. 

"The commercial agencies detected the false note in 
this system at the start and sent out a warning. Of 
all the concerns, multiplying daily in 1902, less than 
a dozen were shown to have any excuse for existence. 
In 1903 the local police department made a thorough 
canvass of the situation and nearly all of these Lloyds 
were definitely reported as operating in distinct defi- 
ance of the law. 

"Meanwhile complaints began to come in from all 
parts of the country and Chicago gained such wide- 
spread notoriety for Wild Cat' service that the. Board 
of Underwriters, the United States postal service and 
the state department of insurance, acting on informa- 
tion gathered, inaugurated a war of prosecution. By 
January, 1905, all the ringleaders of the irregular com- 
binations had taken flight or were under indictment, 
and the latter are now under heavy fines and serving 
sentences in the state penitentiary or House of Cor- 
rection. The industry has practically been blotted out, 



A SUCKER IS BORN EVERY MINUTE 



>$UCKB& 




' THE WILD CAT INSURANCE FISHERMAN. The whole 
School of Suckers wanted to bite. He could not pull them out 
fast enough. He furnishes insurance cheaper than regular old 
line companies. They fairly held up their money to him. The 
author broke up and imprisoned dozens of these Insurance 
Grafters. 



40 

a result pronounced by the insurance experts the best 
and quickest piece of work ever executed in this field. 

"The secret, silent and actual service in this matter 
fell to Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge. From first 
to last it was due to his indefatigable work that loads 
of records were unearthed, crooked methods discov- 
ered and the evidence gathered in endless chain and 
without a flaw, which so dismayed those arrested that 
"they pleaded guilty rather than face over 150 wit- 
nesses summoned to the Federal court from every part 
of the United States. 

"His efforts are considered the more remarkable be- 
cause even experienced insurance men did not com- 
prehend the workings of the 'Wild Cat' trust, and it 
required intelligence, patience and strict honesty of 
purpose to combat influences exerted by a 'ring' em- 
bracing some of the shrewdest confidence scheme op- 
erators in America. 

"This unique industry will never show its head 
again under the old guise. The few concerns— less 
than five — now in existence, that have survived be- 
cause they really proceeded on conservative lines, are 
gradually closing out business or incorporating as 
regular companies in other states and establishing a 
home office where organized, in conformity with the 
recent decision of the Supreme Court. The mutual 
associations in Chicago are most of them on a sub- 
stantial basis, having as members only such firms as 
carry a standard rating in excess of $300,000, and tak- 
ing exclusively preferred automatic sprinkler risks. 

"With this cleansing of the Augean stables, Chicago 



41 

bids fair to resume a former record for reliability in 
the matter of fire insurance. In this prompt and defi- 
nite extermination of the 'Wild Cat' combinations the 
direct prosecutor has been Detective Wooldridge, who 
has been compelled to fight, step by step, every pos- 
sible technicality and the result has led to more strin- 
gent and exacting legislative enactments for the pro- 
tection of legitimate insurance companies and the in- 
terests of the insuring public, directing for the latter 
over half a million dollars into trustworthy channels 
and giving them a safe possibility of just indemnity 
in case of fire loss. 

"It is noteworthy that in the handling of this mat- 
ter, while some other investigating mediums carelessly 
passed over the demerits of this system, deceived by 
its newness and first popularity, and allowed some of 
these associations to become clients, Detective Wool- 
dridge vigorously pursued a watchful and finally an 
aggressive course, the ramifications of which eventu- 
ated in enabling the United States courts to secure the 
entire frame-work on which the government rested all 
of the cases that were successfully prosecuted. ,, 

If anything the able writer of the above has been too 
lenient with the "Wildcatters." He does not tell of 
the millions of dollars worth of bogus securities, not 
worth the paper they were written on, which the graft- 
ers flaunted as their "resources" ; of the shameless 
games and subterfuges by which they evaded payment 
of their fire losses ; of the hundreds of families that 
were impoverished by reason of their existence ; of the 
battle that occurred before the victory was won. 



42 WILD-CAT-INSURANCE GRAFTERS 

THE BURSTING OF THE BUBBLE. 

The big Baltimore fire was largely responsible for 
the onslaught upon the lairs of the "Wild Cats" by the 
police. Soon after the conflagration complaints began 
to reach the office of State's Attorney Deneen, now 
governor of Illinois, that certain concerns were evi- 
dently determined not to honor their obligations, and 
that their methods savored of fraud in its most violent 
form. It was estimated that Baltimore policy holders 
lost an aggregate of $184,000 through the irresponsible 
concerns. 

Mr. Deneen referred the matter to Chief of Police 
O'Neill, who assigned Detective Wooldridge of his 
personal stafT on the case. The officer had as allies 
the Chicago Board of Underwriters, the postal author- 
ities and the state insurance department, but the brunt 
of the work fell upon Wooldridge, whose strenuous 
methods of gathering evidence made possible the 
breaking up of the system and the complete rout of all 
those engaged in it. 

After studying the situation in all its details and in- 
vestigating from every angle the detective reasoned 
that the one sure method of getting the necessary evi- 
dence was by entering the dens of the "Wild Cats," 
confiscating every scrap of paper and making those in 
charge prisoners. But, before proceeding with these 
exciting incidents another circumstance may well be 
dwelt upon — a circumstance which materially aided 
the authorities and which lent an additional touch of 
dramatic interest to the affair. This was the ven- 
geance of a woman. 



43 

While in a drunken orgie E. A. Shanklin, who con- 
ducted several fake insurance companies in the Fort 
Dearborn building, defamed his stenographer, Mrs. 
Eessie Taylor. The young woman left his employ- 
ment, brought suit for slander and sought further sat- 
isfaction by inditing the following letter to Chief 
O'Neill, the Federal authorities and the Chiacgo Un- 
derwriters' Association : 

Gentlemen — As you have probably noticed in the 
papers I have a suit against Mr. E. A. Shanklin, 802, 
134 Monroe street, for $5,000 for slander. Now, I 
worked for this party for one year and I know his 
business methods. During the last three years he has 
made $50,000 a year defrauding the public. He boasts 
that the Illinois authorities have never been able to 
put their hands on him. 

He started his wild cat insurance business about ten 
years ago, according to his own story. He is not a 
broker, as he represents himself to be, but owns all 
of his own companies. He owns the American Un- 
derwriters, the Great Western Underwriters, the 
Royal Underwriters' Association and the Citizens' In- 
surance Company. He also sends out a large number 
of policies in the Great Britain Insurance Company, 
which has offices in London, and who have no right to 
do business in the United States, because they have 
not deposited the amount of capital here required for 
the protection of policy holders. 

He also owns the Equitable Insurance Company of 
Indiana, which went into the hands of a receiver last 
July. He paid only one loss for this company, and 
when the company had half a dozen losses he simply 
threw the company into the hands of a receiver to 
get out of paying his losses, intending to buy in the 
charter again for $200 and start the company up again 



44 

with a clean sheet under a new name. This informa- 
tion you can verify by communicating with Mr. Ham- 
rnand, of Hammond, Ind., the receiver, and W. J. 
Whitney, the attorney for the receiver, also of Ham- 
mond. He did this company out of thousands of dol- 
lars and I can tell you exactly how it was done. He 
turns all his loss matters over to Mr. H. J. Toner, 
1031-35 Unity building. Respectfully, 

BESSIE TAYLOR. 

The revelations contained in the angry woman's let- 
ter served to strengthen the conclusion reached by 
Wooldridge, that the best method of cleansing the in- 
surance atmosphere of Chicago was to clean literally. 
Already there were injunction proceedings pending 
against a number of bogus insurance companies and 
an official list of "Wild Cats" had been issued by the 
national convention of insurance commissioners. 

This was all very well and good, thought Detective 
Wooldridge, but he also knew full well that court pro- 
ceedings are tedious" things and that mere proscription 
is no antidote for humbuggery. With a record of 
18,000^ arrests behind him the officer knew a thing 
or two about putting the quietus on anything objec- 
tionable. He decided that the best way to "get shet 
of a vermint," as they say where he came from down 
in old Kentucky, was to kill the brute. 

TRACKED TO THEIR LAIRS. 

And so it happened that on June 16, 1904, the offices 
of Dr. Stephen W. Jacobs, 154 Lake street, and E. A. 
Shanklin, 134 Monroe street, were raided. Carrying 
warrants charging the two men with using the mails 



45 

to defraud, Detective Wooldridge and Postoffice In- 
spector William A. Ketcham swooped down upon the 
strongholds of the wild-cat chiefs. Shanklin protested 
vigorously at what he termed "an outrageous invasion 
of his private rights as a citizen" and threatened dire 
vengeance in the courts upon the officers who had so 
unceremoniously taken possession of him and his ef- 
fects. 

Jacobs was cooler, but he had less reason to be than 
Shanklin. For in that raid there went to police head- 
quarters not only the securities and papers of his nu- 
merous insurance companies and "development" 
schemes, but those of his "Chicago Loan and Trust 
Company" and "Merchants' Bank" — an aggregate of 
over three million dollars, according to their face fig- 
ures. 

The doctor declared his business methods were 
straightforward, but while he was protesting two at- 
torneys entered. They proclaimed loudly that they 
had been there every day for a week seeking settle- 
ment of claims, but that they had been brazenly 
"stalled" by Jacobs. The patrol wagons were backed 
up at both buildings and were laden with documentary 
evidence to be used against the wildcatters and the 
stampede of the "Cats" had begun. 

Charles J. Van Anden, a partner of Jacobs, was 
nabbed, and Charles J. Russell, a big cog in the "sys- 
tem," felt the grip of the law. Then "Deacon" Wal- 
lace A. Lowell and Walter M. Cowell, his former part- 
ner in the Wisconsin Insurance Agency Company, 
were rounded Up. 



46 

With their ringleaders struggling for life in the un- 
relenting clutches of the law the smaller and more 
insignificant members of the "Wild Cat" fraternity 
began to seek cover. Of the 184 in existence at the 
time a large majority closed up shop at once. Several 
fled to foreign parts and were never heard from more, 
while others contented themselves with quietly closing 
up shop and destroying the evidences of their nefa- 
rious business. A few managed to pay some small 
losses that happened to be on their books, and let go 
gracefully. Other and newer companies which had 
not reached the deep-water stage of their existences 
got from under without a scratch or a jolt. In the 
resultant trials punishment was meted out to the ac- 
cused promoters as follows : 

Dr. S. W. Jacobs, two years in Joliet penitentiary 
and fine of $1,000. 

Charles J. Van Anden, one year in Chicago House 
of Correction and fine of $500. 

E. A. Shanklin, one year in House of Correction and 
fine of $500. 

Charles J. Russell, one year in House of Correction 
and fine of $500. 

Wallace A. Lowell, indefinite term in Joliet peniten- 
tiary and fine of $1,000. 

Walter M. Cowell turned state's evidence and was 
fined $300 and court costs, the total amount of his 
assessment being $341. 

Inspector Ketcham and Detective Wooldridge sent 
out 2,800 letters to policy holders, by this means gath- 
ering evidence enough to convict from three to five 



47 

hundred men in other states for writing "wild cat" 
insurance. This evidence was sent to the proper of- 
ficials in the following states : Maryland, West Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Flor- 
ida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Arkan- 
sas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kentucky. 

STAND ON "BLUE SKY" AND "HOT AIR." 

Many humorous and startling incidents occurred 
during the various trials. That of "Deacon" Wallace 
A. Lowell was the most productive of sensations. It 
took place in the Criminal Court of Cook County, be- 
fore Judge McEwen. The trial lasted two weeks and 
four days. 

Assistant State's Attorney Fake won the admiration 
of the entire bar of the city and the thanks of all hon- 
est business men by the masterful manner in which 
he conducted the prosecution of Lowell and Cowell. 
Attorney Frank M. Fairfield, representing the Chicago 
Board of Underwriters, and A. F. Campbell rendered 
invaluable assistance, both to the police and the state. 
Cowel pleaded guilty and turned state's evidence. His 
testimony contributed largely to enhance the mass of 
evidence gathered by Detective Wooldridge and so 
ably presented by Mr. Fake. The specific charge upon 
which Lowell and Cowell went to trial was of con- 
spiracy to obtain money by fraud from N. R. Jackson, 
a negro to whom they issued a policy in their "Union 
Lloyds" Company. 

Cowell's testimony relative to the "financing" of 
their "companies" was good enough to be reproduced 



48 

on the stage. Asked where the securities in question, 
which existed to the amount of several millions of 
dollars, came from, Cowell said: 

"I furnished them. I had a trunk full, a vault full 
and my house in Kenosha was papered with them. 
They were what I would term 'blue sky and hot air' 
securities. We paid some of our underwriters $5. for 
using their names, but some of them were nothing 
more than barrel-house bums. We got twenty of 
them out of one lodging house. I would hand them 
a few hundred thousand dollars' worth of blue sky 
and hot air paper, and while they held it in their hands 
they would sign affidavits to the effect that they were 
worth half a million or a million dollars. Then I would 
take the paper away from them and hand it to some 
other underwriter. Holding the same bunch he would 
go through with the same stunt. They were million- 
aires in their minds, while it lasted, but it didn't last 
long enough for them to spend much." 

"What was the value of those so-called securities 
altogether?" was asked. 

"Well," answered Cowell, with a sad smile, "they 
might have been worth five and they might have been 
worth ten dollars. It depends on whether a man could 
use them in his business or not." 

To a query as to the liability of one of the "under- 
writers" who was exploited as a millionaire, Cowell 
answered : 

"Well, he was liable almost any time to get pinched 
for vagrancy." 

"Where was his office?" questioned Mr. Fake. 



49 

"Under his hat," responded Cowell. 

One of the underwriters himself was put on the 
stand. 

"You made affidavit that- you are worth one million 
dollars," said the prosecutor to the witness. "Now, 
actually, what are your tangible assets?" 

"I think I might be able to dig up fifteen cents," was 
the frank reply. 

When Cowell was asked concerning the location of 
"40,000 acres of land in the City of Omaha" that had 
been scheduled as assets by him and Lowell, he re- 
plied : 

"It all depends on the vagaries of the Missouri river. 
If the river behaves itself you might be able to find 
it, but when the river takes peculiar notions it disap- 
pears altogether." 

As to 91,000 acres of land in the Ozark mountains 
Cowell gravely admitted that it was worth all of five 
or six dollars in real money. Another startling admis- 
sion of Cowell was that the securities he and Lowell 
made use of were of the same kind and breed as those 
used by Mrs. Cassie Chadwick in her famous flights in 
the realm of high finance. 

LOWELL LASHED BY PROSECUTOR FAKE, 

In his closing address to the jury Mr. Fake branded 
the companies exploited by Lowell and Cowell as 
unique among their kind in that they were even more 
pernicious in their dealings with the poorer classes 
than the others. He called attention to the fact thai 
the Union Lloyds had a system by which it bled almost 



50 

exclusively the people of the tenements. It had been 
shown that nearly every negro family on the south 
side that could afford the luxury of insurance had 
taken out a policy on its furniture, the "Deacon" mag-' 
nanimously allowing payments to be made in weekly 
installments. 

The assistant state's attorney pointed out that from 
fifteen to twenty policies a day had been written in 
the Union Lloyds for a period of over two years end- 
ing with the dissolution of partnership on the part of 
"This pretty pair of men" in October, 1903. He read 
letters from Lowell to Cowell in which the "Deacon" 
said he was taking in $7,000 a month. 

Alluding to the Wisconsin Insurance Agency Com- 
pany, the parent concern of Lowell's nest of wild-cats, 
he said : 

"This insurance agency is for the purpose of making 
insurance companies. It is not an insurance company 
in itself. It is an insurance agency company. Do not 
lose track of that. And under the law of Wisconsin, 
which was read to you here, it is necessary for the 
$12,500 on the part of Wallace A. Lowell to have been 
paid up. Now, then, all of that $12,500 is not neces- 
sary to have been paid up by each individual. But 
twenty per cent of the entire total shall have been paid 
up, according to statute. Now, then, these men tell 
you through Cowell — mark you, Cowell is the mouth- 
piece — Cowell tells us not one farthing, not one penny 
has ever been paid up for stock in that company." 

Further Mr. Fake said: 

"Now we get up to the very vital part of the case, 



51 

gentlemen. Here is the financial statement of the as- 
sets, August 15, 1901 : 

Mortgages on real estate $115,000.00 

Collateral loans secured by stocks and 

bonds 30,000.00 

Collateral loans secured by mortgages on 

real estate > 34,000.00 

Real estate 44,200.00 

Cash 2,551.79 

Stocks and bonds 54,000.00 

Bills receivable 31,835.95 

Interest accrued 4,680.00 

Total $316,267.74 

Liabilities, none. 

"Now, mark you, there isn't a letter from Cowell to 
Lowell that does not ask for money or something of 
that kind, when Cowell gets his ten dollars a week 
salary, if you please — this multimillionaire had a sal- 
ary of ten dollars a week, for which he thanks God and 
Lowell." 

The prosecutor characterized Lowell as "King of 
the Wild Cats," and found a pretty satire in the min- 
ute book of the Wisconsin Insurance Agency Com- 
pany which read as follows : 

"On motion the salary of the assistant secretary 
(Lowell) was fixed at $50 a week, to commence Au- 
gust 1, 1901. On motion the salary of president and 
treasurer (Cowell) was fixed at $10 a week." 

(Babcock, the secretary, was allowed nothing!) 

During the course of his address Mr. Fake paused 
and with mock-sadness turned to the court, saying: 



52 

"Oh, dear! I'm afraid they'll get money from the 
judge before we get through. They couldn't get mine 
for I'm broke." 

VENGEANCE OF THE STENOGRAPHER. 

When Shanklin went to trial in the federal court he 
pleaded guilty, as his former stenographer, Mrs. Tay- 
lor, had so testified at the preliminary hearing that it 
would have been useless for him to offer a defense. 
Mrs. Taylor's account of Shanklin's methods was di- 
verting. She testified he had operated the North 
American, Interstate and Citizens' Insurance compa- 
nies of Chicago ; the Great Britain Insurance Corpora- 
tion, American Underwriters, Citizens' Underwriters, 
Great Western Underwriters and Royal Standard Un- 
derwriters. 

She declared Shanklin was particularly desirous of 
keeping the Great Britain under cover as much as pos- 
sible, as when a "roar" came on one of its policies he 
could play battledore and shuttlecock with it between 
London, Chicago and the residence town of the victim 
almost indefinitely. When a claim came in on a policy 
in one of the other companies, said the witness, Shank- 
lin would turn it over to his attorney with instructions 
to "nurse it along." In such a case, if the agent in 
whose territory the loss occurred could obtain enough 
new premiums to cover the loss the obligation might 
be met. The woman told of Shanklin explaining with 
great gusto to his office force that he kad placed the 
insurance on the Belmont Golf Club house in decent 
companies, because he was treasurer of the club, and 



A WRECKER FROM WRECKVILLE 

if he placed it in his own companies he would be com- 
pelled to pay the damage. 

His testimonials from supposed loss claimants were 
bogus, she said, and he paid the "officers" of his com- 
panies $5 for the use of their names. Mrs. Taylor 
asserted that Shanklin had often told her that his com- 
panies were nothing but "Wild Cats," and that their 
only assets were the paper deposited in the Merchants' 
Bank, operated by Dr. Jacobs. 

"Deacon" Wallace A. Lowell was the most pic- 
turesque figure in the bunch of bogus insurance rascals 
sent to prison for wildcatting. Of Lowell it was said 
by his former partner, Cowell : 

"We used to go over to his church for prayer meet- 
ing. He could pray and sing and exhort like a good 
fellow and then we'd go home and sit up the rest of the 
night fixing up schemes to skin people out of their 
money. He certainly was a wrecker from Wreck- 
ville and a master in the art of playing both ends to- 
ward the middle. He could put a legitimate company 
on the bum as quickly as he could handle the money. 
He double-crossed everybody. But as a churcher he 
was a shiner. He was a real deacon in the church, 
loved and respected by all, but he could trim a sucker 
with as much artistic finesse as Wooldridge can skin 
a wildcat." 

Lowell is past sixty years of age, white-haired and 
distinguished in appearance. Sanctimonius in speech 
and bearing he stayed the hand of Justice longer than 
his clever fellows and he was among the last of the 
big wildcatters to get his desserts in the courts. 



54 

Walter M. Cowell was a young insurance man of 
Kenosha, Wis., when he fell in with the "deacon," and 
he furnished a stack of bogus securities to Jacobs and 
Lowell, which they used as a foundation for their nu- 
merous schemes in 1898 and 1899. Later he went into 
partnership with Lowell, the two launching the Wis- 
consin Insurance Agency Company. They started 
several companies, issuing elaborate annual statements 
and prospectuses, in which they printed affidavits by 
persons claiming to be worth millions of dollars and 
who posed as underwriters. 

Deacon Lowell lived with his wife and three daugh- 
ters in magnificent style at 5410 Madison avenue. The 
office from which he directed his schemes was in the 
Rialto building. The deacon was arrested September 
4, 1904, and was rearrested September 17 on twenty- 
three charges of conspiracy to obtain money by fraud. 
At the time of his arrest Lowell was associated with 
W. K. Twomey and Attorney M. L. Thackebery in 
operating what was known as the Kent Agency, 218 
La Salle street. Twomey, by the way, proved a vex- 
ing obstructionist to the police and federal authorities. 
He was known to have been associated with Jacobs 
and Lowell in many schemes and in 1902 listed his in- 
surance connections on his letter-head as follows : 

Secretary and Treasurer of Western Fire, Marine 
and Plate Glass Insurance Company. 

Secretary and Treasurer National Aid Association. 

Secretary of the Chicago Fire Insurance Agency, 
representing: 

Standard Lloyds of New York City. 



OF A DETECTIVE 55 

Merchants' and Manufacturers' Fire Insurance Com- 
pany. 

Commercial Insurance Company, of Philadelphia. 

Germania Fire Insurance Company. 

Fire Association of New York. 

All of these institutions were under the ban of the 
legitimate insurance interests in Chicago. Twomey 
was an all-round promoter and his schemes were as 
flimsy as they were varied. He was a partner of W. J. 
Fordham in a fake "stone renovating" company and 
after the defection of Fordham he pushed the same 
graft with John H. Poindexter, a notorious confidence 
man and wire-tapper. 

Twomey and Lowell were busy men when Jacobs 
and Van Anden were on trial. Twomey's activities 
were directed principaly toward the interviewing of 
witnesses and he laid his pretended findings before 
both the federal authorities and the defense, claiming, 
it is said, that he could "swing" the case either way. 

His tactics were such, however, that he was haled 
into Judge McEwen's court on a bench warrant dur- 
ing the trial of Lowell, severely reprimanded and 
warned to keep away from the state's witnesses. It 
was charged that Twomey, among other things, visited 
Mrs. Mary Kleinsmith, 3229 Forest avenue, a witness 
for the state, and warned her that if she appeared in 
court against Lowell she would be sent to jail or the 
penitentiary. Mrs. Kleinsmith refused to be intimi- 
dated, however, and brought the matter to the notice 
of the state's attorney at once. 



56 

BRIBERY TACTICS OF NO AVAIL. 

Lowell fought hard for his liberty, resorting to des- 
perate means to defeat justice. Attempts were made 
to bribe Detective Wooldridge, but these met with the 
usual failure. Then political influence was brought to 
bear, but with no avail. Next threats and intimidation 
were tried, but the dauntless detective went forward 
with his duty as he saw it and was only spurred to 
greater effort by the forces against him. One of the 
plans set afoot by the Deacon's friends was to retal- 
iate on Wooldridge by swearing out warrants before 
rural justices of the peace, charging the officer with 
conspiracy. Wooldridge answered the first one, at 
Franklin Park, twenty miles from the city, but he 
went reinforced by an assistant corporation counsel, 
the city attorney, Attorney Frank M. Fairfield, of the 
Underwriters' Association, and a stenographer and 
the prosecution failed to put in an appearance. See- 
ing that Wooldridge intended to put up a fighting 
front to whatever method of attack they chose to 
adopt they dropped this scheme forthwith. 

When the trial began in the criminal court the de- 
tective appeared with three patrol wagon loads of doc- 
umentary evidence against the two men. This repre- 
sented a complete record of their dealings with from 
ten to fifteen thousand policy holders. The detective 
also marshaled 160 witnesses into court, among them 
being two men from southern "Illinois, who had lost 
their all by trusting to Lowell's companies. After 
being burned out of house and home one of the fam- 
ilies went to live in a tent and the other was compelled 



PARTNERS IN INIQUITY 57 

to do the best it could under an old wagon box. The 
record of the trial filled 1,700 typewritten pages. The 
accused churchman made lavish use of private detec- 
tives. Intimidation and bribery tactics were tried also 
on the witnesses for the state, and Detective Wool- 
dridge was kept busy night and day thwarting these 
efforts to spoil his case. 

Deacon Lowell and Dr. Jacobs, were, partners in in- 
iquity for a number of years. Lowell made free use 
of the paper issued by Jacobs' Chicago Loan and Trust 
Company. He was an attorney and his was the mas- 
ter mind which furnished the expert and technical 
knowledge necessary to operate the elaborate system 
of wildcatting then in vogue. The records of Cook 
County show that Deacon Lowell, single-handed, 
wrecked twenty-three insurance companies during his 
career. 

The Deacon was perfidious to an extended degree. 
It was charged by all with whom he came in contact 
that he had given them the double cross and left them 
to hold the sack while he enjoyed the fruits' of their 
dealings. Even his brother and brother-in-law re- 
ported themselves to the police as among his victims, 
the former declaring he had lost $25,000 through his 
brother. 

DR. JACOBS A WONDER IN MORE WAYS 
THAN ONE. 

As might be supposed from the magnitude of his 
undertakings, Dr. Stephen Wesley Jacobs is no ordi- 
nary man. On the contrary, he is a man of varied 
attainments and is blessed by nature with faculties 



58 




59 

which make for business success far above the aver- 
age. In the opinion of Detective-Sergeant Wool- 
dridge, who ran him to earth, Dr. Jacobs would have 
rivaled the greatest financiers of the day had he ap- 
plied his talents along the lines of legitimate endeavor. 

Jacobs was the king pin, the center pole whence 
radiated the blighting shafts of humbuggery. He was 
the evil genius who injected the virus of fraud into 
the ambitious breasts of impecunious business men 
who saw in him a savior; who asked not whether the 
arm of strength held forth to them was black or white, 
and who fluttered as moths to the fascinating glimmer 
of his personality. What if that which he offered them 
be not gold so it passed for gold? Even honest men 
saw an opportunity to get their feet under them, and 
each trusted to the great Good Luck that his premiums 
would exceed the amount of his losses. Consciences 
were for the moment stilled — for the moment that 
Jacobs' worthless certificates of deposit and "securi- 
ties" were fluttered before the eyes of the insurance 
commissioner of some state ; for the moment necessary 
to secure the issuance of a charter. Many of these 
companies were the innocent whelps of the wildcat. 
Some of these men would have sold their last per- 
sonal possession to satisfy a claim, but in order to get 
into the business at all they were compelled to show 
a certain amount of capital. This was shown for them 
by Jacobs. 

The man who now wears stripes in the Joliet peni- 
tentiary, and whose strenuous personality has been 
lost in a felon's registry number is 46 years old. He 



60 

was graduated from Rush Medical College in 1883 and 
his subsequent record shows he might have made a 
name for himself in the chosen profession of his youth 
had he been so inclined. 

After practicing medicine at Storm Lake, la., and 
at Madison, S. D., we find him spreading the financial 
wings which were to carry him to great heights, only 
to drop him to ruin and disgrace. With his brother 
he opened a private bank and real estate office in Mad- 
ison, and in 1885 he organized the Madison State 
Bank, which later became a national bank. 

It was then that the evil spirit of perversion that 
gripped his soul won its first fall out of the promising 
young man. He was cashier of the bank. He embez- 
zled $30,000 and was jailed. His wife furnished bond 
for his release and he fled. The bank went under. 
" Jacobs dropped down to Sioux City, la., in Novem- 
ber, 1899, and again took up the practice of medicine. 
The following year he entered the financial arena for 
another whirl and lost nearly all his money by an in- 
vestment in the street railway system of Raleigh, N. 
C. In 1891 Jacobs removed from Raleigh to Chicago, 
but his wife's health was poor and he went to Rock- 
ford, 111., where he resumed the practice of medicine. 
The money-loving physician bobs up next in Lincoln, 
Neb., where he organized the Farmers' Mutual Buyer 
Insurance Company and a chain of similar institutions 
in the nearby country. 

Associated with him in this venture were several 
honest men and Jacobs might have led them all to 



61 



fortune with honor to himself but it seems that liop'^t 
endeavor was too prosaic for this venturesome physi- 
cian. Ke was forced to resign from the concern, 
which became prosperous and stands today as a monu- 
ment to the man who wanted no monument to such 
unexciting qualities as his honesty and business 
acumen. Before leaving Lincoln, Jacobs forged three 
notes on the company for $1,070, $1,080 and $250. 

It was only a little matter of personal convenience 
that prompted Jacobs to make these notes good. His 
first wife had died and he was at that time engaged 
to his present wife. It would have been embarrassing 
to flee under the circumstances, so the versatile doctor 
"made good." 

His next venture was the organization of the Fidel- 
ity Loan and Trust Company of Lincoln, Neb. In 
order to raise funds to loan he issued debenture bonds 
and as security for these he placed a large batch of 
paper in the hands of a trustee. Among these securi- 
ties was a note for $6,000 signed by a man who was 
then in jail for hog-stealing and secured by a first 
mortgage on some worthless real estate. Another 
note, for $14,000, was signed by a man in the Iowa 
penitentiary and was secured by a lot of spurious 
railroad bonds. This venture blew up in 1894. 

Also there were other irons in the fire. At Inland 
and at Holstein, Neb., he started banks, inducing the 
farmers of the two communities to put up real money 
against his worthless securities, not wort?: the *japer 
thev were written on. 



62 

COULDN'T STAY "BROKE" FOR LONG. 

In 1894 this man of many schemes moved to Texas 
arid went into the live stock business. Luck was not 
with him, however. He soon found that playing a 
game with live things was not so sure a means of 
getting the money as gambling with stock of the dead 
kind — generally extremely dead when handled by the 
crafty doctor. Of a carload of horses shipped to him 
all but one died. Then he tried "dead live stock" as 
a compromise, going into the packing business. The 
funds of the packing plant in which he invested were 
attached and once more the adventurer who wouldn't 
stick to pills and prescriptions went broke. 

With a man of the caliber of Dr. Jacobs, however, 
there is no such thing as being down for long. All 
the mysteries of fraud were his and, as has been said, 
he also possessed remarkable strength in a legitimate' 
way. - 

He returned to Chicago and soon there were so 
many strings to his bow it might have been taken for 
a concert harp had it been of material shape. After 
his entrance into the Chicago financial whirl his career 
was cyclonic. From the debris left by his downfall 
enough facts have been collected to prove him the 
wildest of the wild cats that have clawed and scratched 
their names and records on the pages of commercial 
history in this or any other country. But neither the 
police nor the postal authorities, nor the .prosecuting 
officers of the Federal and State courts pretend to 
know everything that this man has done. 

From the records as they stand we find that in 1897 



63 

he procured incorporation papers for the Chicago 
Loan and Trust Company, with offices at 140 Dear- 
born street and with a capital of $2,000,000. S. W. 
Jacobs was president and the name of E. M. Cham- 
berlain appeared as treasurer. Chamberlain was a 
beardless cousin of Mrs. Jacobs and never actually 
filled, any office in the company, nor did he draw any 
salary. The concern went bankrupt and was placed 
in the hands of a receiver. Owing to its failure to 
make report to the secretary of state for the year 1902 
its charter was cancelled. It was this company that 
stood sponsor for the International Bank, a private in- 
stitution operated by Charles B. Perrine and W. J. 
Pomeroy and doing business on the strength of a 
letter from the Chicago Loan and Trust Company 
allowing the former to use the latter as a reference. 

The Chicago Loan and Trust Company was not 
dead but sleeping, however, as Jacobs found a plan for 
resurrecting it. He simply applied for a change in 
the name of the old Republic Water Power and Cattle 
Company to the Chicago Loan and Trust Company, 
capital $500,000, and the name again was in existence 
officially under the laws of the state of Illinois. He 
also opened a private bank, calling it the Merchants', 
the principal mission of which was to offer itself as a 
reference for the various get-rich-quick schemes then 
flourishing. 

Another enterprise which Jacobs embarked in was 
the Chicago Wax Paper Company, with assets of 
$100,000, of which Jacobs was president, and which 
was a sound money-making institution. The head- 



64 

quarters of all these concerns were at 152-154 Lake 
street. It was from a directors' meeting of the Wax 
Paper Company that Jacobs rode in an automobile to 
the courtroom where he pleaded guilty and accepted 
sentence. 

The Chicago Li*an and Trust Company, without a 
dollar of bona fide capital, issued' paper purporting to 
represent nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. 
Jacobs managed to break into the Bankers' Blue Book 
with the names of his concerns and the rest was easy. 

Any person who wanted to start an insurance com- 
pany could find the necessary capital by simply pay- 
ing a certain amount of coin to Mr. Jacobs, who would 
furnish him with fake stocks and bonds and certificates 
of deposit indicating that vast sums had been de- 
posited in the coffers of the Chicago Loan and Trust 
Company. Also, Jacobs did a fine business with the 
"get-rich-quick" men, whom he furnished with all the 
references that might be desired by the most skeptical 
"sucker" they could corral. 

Other schemes in whicht Jacobs was interested were: 
The Dyer Light, Heat and Power Company of Illinois ; 
American Electro- Automatic Telephone Company; 
Republic Water Power and Cattle Company ; Waubon 
Colonization and Improvement Company; American 
Tropical Planters' Company ; Denver Telephone Com- 
pany, of Denver, Col. ; Fall River Electric Power Com- 
pany ; Industrial Commercial Agency of America ; 
Caspar County Bond Company; Merchants' Trading 
Bank Check Company; Chicago Insurance Agency, 
Tuhachuce G. & C. Development Company, and some 



HOW IT IS DONE 




BOGUS CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT 



GC> LIFE-INSURANCE GRAFTER 

that the authorities were too busy at the time of the 
raids to take note of. 

THE MONKEY, THE HORSE AND TOE DOG. 

One of Jacobs' victims was Frank Bostock, the 
famous animal trainer and showman. The doctor 
wrote a policy on the educated chimpanzee known as 
"Consul" for the trifling sum of $70,000, for which the 
owner paid him $5,000. The monkey died in Vienna 
ind Bostock sent his policy and proofs along and 
csfeked for the $70,000. He was informed by Jacobs 
tnat he was behind $2,500 in his premiums, upon the 
payment of which indemnity would be allowed. The 
unsuspecting animal trainer sent along the requested 
amount anOl heard no more from Jacobs. 

When Detective Wooldridge spoke of the monkey 
to Jacobs, after the latter's arrest, the wild-catter 
laughed. 

"Oh, that confounded monkey," he cried ; "why, the 
monkey died." 

"I know it died," remarked Wooldridge, "but you 
didn't indemnify the owner." 

"Why, a monkey only lives two years in this coun- 
try, anyway," roared Jacobs. 

"But you insured it, didn't you, and took $7,500 frorri 
Bostock?" 

"Yes, but we'll get him another monkey. There 
are lots more monkeys in the world." 

"But this was a trained monkey." 

"Well, we'll hire a man to train him a monkey. 
Seventy thousand dollars for a darned old monkey! 



67 

Why, it's preposterous! Who ever heard of such a 
thing?" 

"I don't wonder you're thinking of pleading guilty," 
was the comment of the detective. 

Jacobs would write a policy on anything and he 
would write any kind of a policy. He would insure 
against rain, hail, snow, lightning, tornado, hog chol- 
era or lumpy jaw in cattle. The officer had found an 
unpaid claim on a horse. 

"Well, how about that horse?" he asked of Jacobs. 

"Oh, that confounded horse," whooped Jacobs. 
"What business had he rubbering over in another 
man's yard, anyway. If he had stayed home and 
minded his own business and not gone sticking his 
head over the fence he wouldn't have been struck by 
lightning anyway. That horse didn't have good sense. 
We can't be responsible for a fool horse like that." 

"And then there was the dog," continued the de- 
tective, alluding to another claim. 

"Oh, that confounded dog!" ejaculated Jacobs in 
the same aggrieved tone. "What business had he 
going and following a nigger off, anyway. I'll bet 
that's the way he got what killed him. He was get- 
ting three good square meals a day at home and had 
no business dying at all. Of course he followed some 
nigger off and got to eating bad grub. That's what 
killed him. Now how can we be responsible for a 
fool clog like that? He didn't have as much sense as 
the horse." 

"Nor the man who paid premiums to you on his 



life In a fire insurance company, either," dryly juoth 
Wooldridge. 

In marked contrast to these incidents was the 
pathetic case of Samuel James, of Westfield, 111., a 
typical victim of Jacobs and his wild-cat friends. After 
struggling past the sixty-year mark with the owner- 
ship of a home for his six children as a goal, James 
accomplished the end of his heart's desire. It cost 
him $900 and his health, for he was in the clutches of 
consumption when the cottage was finally paid for. 
Fearing lest the fruit of his life-work should be swept 
away by fire, James took out an insurance policy in 
one of Jacobs' companies. The house burned down 
and he was not indemnified. With his wife and little 
ones James was forced to take shelter in a chicken 
coop where they were living when the broken-hearted 
father came to Chicago as a witness against Jacobs. 

One of the favorite grafts of Jacobs was to issue 
fake certificates of deposit indicating that vast sums 
had been deposited in the Chicago Loan and Trust 
Company for a specified term, generally one or two 
years from the date of issuance. These he placed in 
the hands of Louis J. Epstein, S. Undiwiser, H. B. 
Hyde and others, who traveled about the country rais- 
ing money on them in bucket shops, gambling houses 
and- jewelry establishments. 

When one of the certificates was presented for dis- 
count the person to whom it was presented would con- 
sult the Bankers' Blue Book, where he would find the 
address of the Chicago Loan and Trust Company. 
The name sounded good, so the victim would tele- 



graph to the trust company, giving the number of 
the certificate and asking if the person to whom it 
had been issued actually had on deposit the amount of 
money the certificate called for. When Jacobs re- 
ceived one of these queries it told him that one of 
"the boys" was getting busy and had a "sucker" on 
the string. Immediately he would wire back to the 
effect that the certificate and the holder were good as 
gold. 

Result: More money for the Jacobs gang and a 
screech from the person who had been "stang." About 
the time of Wooldridge's descent upon the trust com- 
pany's offices these screeches had blended into a 
mighty wail that reverberated from the palms of Flor- 
ida to the pines of the upper peninsular and rent the 
air from the rock-bound coast of Maine to the Yose- 
mite valley. They had "trimmed" people in every sec- 
tion of these great United States. 

LOOK OUT FOR THESE. 

They Have Been Officially Branded as 

WILD CATS. 

AZtna Fire, New Orleans. Commercial Fire Ins. Co., Phila. 

iEtna Ins. Co., Louisville, Ky. Commercial Fire Ins. Co., Wilming- 

Amazon, Charleston, W. Va. ton. 

American Fire, Wilmington, Del. Commonwealth Ins. Co., Chicago. 

American Fire, Terre Haute, Ind. Commonwealth Ins. Co., W. Va. 

American Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. Continental Fire Ass'n, Ft. Worths 

American Trust & Ins. Co., Chicago. Tex. 

American Underwriters, Chicago. Continental Underwriters, Chicago. 

Augusta Fire, West Virginia. Delaware Trust & Ins. Co., Wil- 

Capital Ins. Co., Jackson, Miss. mington. 

Central Ins. Co., Chicago. Elgin National Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Chesapeake, Md. Equitable, Indianapolis. 

Citizens Ins. Co., Chicago. Equitable Fire Ins. Co., Wilming- 

Columbia Ins. Co., Chicago. ton. 

Columbian Ins. Co., Chicago. Exchange, Chicago. 

Commerce, New Albany, Ind. Farmers & Manufacturers, W. Ya. 

Corrmercial Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. Federal Fire, Chicago. 



70 

Firemens, Chicago. Mutual Trust Co., Dover, Del. 

Ft. Wayne Ins. Co., Ft. Wayne, Ind. National Fire & Ins. Co., Chicago. 
General Trust, Atlanta. National Ins. & Investment Co., 

Germania Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. Dover, Del. 

German Union, Wilmington, Del. National Republic Fire Insurance 
Georgia Indemnity Ass'n, Atlanta, Co., Chicago. 

Ga. North American, Chicago. 

Georgia Industrial Ins. Co., Chicago. Northern, Chicago. 
Great Britain Ins. Co. of London, Northwestern Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Chicago. Peoples Fire Ins. Co., Kenosha, Wis. 

Great Northern, Chicago. Peoples Ins. Co., Dallas. 

Great Western, Chicago. - Pulaski Mutual Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Hartford, Indian Territory. Prairie State Ins. Co., Chicago, in- 

Hiawatha, Chicago. corporated, W. Va. 

Illinois Ins. Co., Chicago. Regal Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Imperial of Chicago. Reserve Fire & Marine, Chicago. 

Indemnity, Chicago. Security F. & M., New Orleans. 

Indiana Underwriters, Indianapolis. Security F. & M. Ins. Co., Washing- 
Inland Fire, Chicago. ton, D. C. 

International, Chicago. Security Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Inter Ocean Ins. Co., Chicago. Security Mutual Ins. Co., Omaha. 

Interstate Ins. Co., Chicago. Skane F. & M., New York. 

Kenosha Fire Ins. Co., Kenosha, Southern Fire Ins. Co.,* Atlanta, Ga. 

Wis. Star Fire & Burglary, Scotland. 

Lincoln Fire, Chicago. Southern Ins. Co., Corsicana, Tex. 

Lincoln Insurance & Banking Co., Texas Ins. Co., Waco, Tex. 

Hammond, Ind. > Threshermen's Protective Associa- 

Lloyds Fire of Sweden. tion, New York. 

London Fire Office. Traders Fire Lloyds, New York. 

Mercantile F. & M., Washington, Underwriters at Standard Lloyds, 

D. C New York. 

Mercantile Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. Union Fire Co., Chicago. 
Mercantile Fire Ins. Co., Indianap-Union Fire Ins. Co., Charleston, W. 

olis. Va. 

Mercantile Ins. Co., Wilmington, United States, West Virginia. 

Del. Vernon Ins. & Trust Co., Indiana. 

Merchants & Manufacturers, Dover, Washington Fire, D. C. 

Delaware. _ Western Consolidated Underwriters, 

Merchants Fire Underwriters, Chi- Chicago. 

cago. Western Fire Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Merchants Ins. Co., Charleston, W. Western Fire, Marine & Plate Glass, 

Va. Chicago. 

Millers Mutual Ins. Co., Kansas City. Western Ins. Co., Aurora. 
Mt. Vernon, Alexandria. Western Illinois Ins. Co., Chicago. 

Mutual & Industrial, Dover, Del. 

TRIED AND TRUE. 



THE HONOR ROLL. 

Following is. a list of the reliable fire and marine 
insurance companies doing business within the state 
of Illinois, as compiled by W. R. Vredenburgh, State 
Superintendent of Insurance: 



71 



Name of Company. Location. 

Calumet Ins. Co Chicago. 

Continental Chicago. 

Forest City Rockford. 

German Freeport. 

German Fire Peoria. 

Insurance Co. State of Illinois Rockford. 

Metropolitan Chicago. 

Traders Chicago. 

Western Underwriters Ass'n ? Chicago 

(Xame since changed to German National) i cago- 

yEtna Hartford, Conn. 

Agricultural Watertown, N. Y. 

Allegheny Allegheny, Pa. 

Allemannia Pittsburg, Pa. 

Alliance Philadelphia, Pa. 

American Newark, N. J. 

American Boston, Mass. 

American Central St. Louis, Mo. 

American Fire Philadelphia, Pa. 

Anchor Cincinnati, O. 

Armenia Pittsburg, Pa. 

Assurance Co. of America New York, N. Y. 

Atlanta-Birmingham Birmingham, Ala. 

Ben Franklin Allegheny, Pa. 

Boston Boston, Mass. 

British-American New York, N. Y. 

Buffalo Commercial Buffalo, N. Y. 

Buffalo German Buffalo, N. Y. 

Camden Fire Insurance Ass'n Camden, N. J. 

Citizens St. Louis, Mo. 

Colonial Assurance New York, N. Y. 

Colonial Washington, D. C. 

Columbia .Jersey City, N. J. 

Commerce Albany, N. Y. 

Commercial Union New York, N. Y. 

Commonwealth New York, N. Y. 

Concordia Milwaukee, Wis. 

Connecticut Hartford, Conn. 

Continental New York, N. Y. 

Delaware Philadelphia, Pa. 

Detroit Fire and Marine Detroit, Mich. 

Dubuque Fire and Marine Dubuque, Iowa. 

Dutchess Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 

Eagle New York, N. Y. 

Eastern Atlantic City, N. J. 

Equitable Fire and Marine Providence, R. I. 

Eureka Fire and Marine Cincinnati, O. 

Farmers and Merchants Lincoln, Neb. 

Federal Jersey City, N. J. 

Fire Association of Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pa. 

Firemens Newark, N. J. 

Firemans Fund San Francisco, Cal. 

Fire Ins. County of Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pa. 

Franklin Philadelphia, Pa. 

Georgia Home Columbus, Ga. 

German Alliance New York, N. Y. 

German-American New York, N. Y. 

German- American Pittsburg, Pa. 

German Pittsburg, Pa. 

German Indianapolis, Ind. 



72 

German Wheeling, W. Vb. 

Germania New York, N. Y. 

Girard Fire and Marine Philadelphia, Pa. 

Glens Falls Glens Falls, N. Y. 

Globe and Rutgers New York, N. Y. 

Hamilton New York, N. Y. 

Flanover New York, N. Y. 

Hartford . — Hartford, Conn. 

Home New York, N. Y. 

Home Fire and Marine . . San Francisco, Cal. 

Humboldt Allegheny, Pa. 

Indemnity New York, N. Y. 

Indianapolis Indianapolis, Ind. 

Insurance Co. of North America ..Philadelphia, Pa. 

Insurance Co. of State of Pennsylvania. .. Philadelphia, Pa. 

Jefferson « Philadelphia, Pa. 

Liverpool and London and Globe New York, N. Y. 

Louisville Louisville, Ky. 

Lumbermens Philadelphia, Pa. 

Mechanics Philadelphia-, Pa. 

Mechanics and Traders -. . . New Orleans, La. 

Mercantile Fire and Marine Boston, Mass. 

Michigan Commercial Lansing, Mich. 

Michigan Fire and Marine Detroit, Mich. 

Milwaukee Fire Milwaukee, Wis. 

Milwaukee Mechanics Milwaukee, Wis. 

Monongahela Pittsburg, Pa. 

Nassau Brooklyn, N. Y. 

National Hartford, Conn. 

National Allegheny, Pa. 

National Fire and Marine Elizabeth, N. J. 

National Union Pittsburg, Pa. 

Newark Newark, N. J. 

New Hampshire Manchester, N. H. 

New York New York, N. Y. 

Niagara New York, N. Y. 

North British and Mercantile New York, N. Y 

Northern New York, N. Y. 

North German Fire New York, N. Y. 

North River New York, N._ Y. 

Northwestern National Milwaukee, Wis. 

Orient Hartford, Conn. 

Pacific , New York, N. Y. 

Pelican Assurance New York, N. Y. 

Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pa. 

Peter Cooper New York, N. Y. 

Phenix Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Phcenix Hartford, Conn. 

Pittsburg Pittsburg, Pa. 

Providence-Washington Providence, R. I. 

Oueen New York, N. Y. 

Reliance Philadelphia, Pa. 

Rochester German Rochester, N. Y. 

St. Paul Fire and Marine St. Paul, Minn. 

Security New Haven, Conn. 

Security Baltimore, Md. 

Security Cincinnati, O. 

Springfield Fire and Marine Springfield, Mass. 

Spring Garden Philadelphia, Pa. 

Star Louisville, Ky. 

Stuy vesant New York, N. Y, 



Teutoni a Allegheny, Pa. 

Teutonia „ New Orleans, La. 

Union New York, N. Y. 

Union -. Philadelphia, Pa. 

U nited Firemen Philadelphia, Pa. 

United States New York, N. Y. 

Victoria New York, N. Y. 

Virginia Fire and Marine Richmond, Va. 

Virginia State Richmond, Va. 

Westchester New York, N. Y. 

Western Pittsburg, Pa. 

Williamsburg City Erooklyn, N. Y. 

Aachen and Munich Aix la Chapelle, Ger. 

Alliance Assurance London, Eng. 

Atlas Assurance London, Eng. 

British- America Assurance Toronto, Can. 

British and Foreign Marine Liverpool, Eng. 

Caledonian Edinburg, Scot. 

Cologne Cologne, Ger. 

Commercial Union Assurance — Limited. .. .London, Eng. 

Fire Insurance Co. "Salamandra" St. Petersburg, ixus. 

General Marine Dresden, Ger. 

Hamburg-Bremen Hamburg Ger. 

Indemnity Mutual Marine London, Eng. 

Law Union and Crown Fire and Life. .. .London, Eng. 

Liverpool and London and Globe Liverpool, Eng. 

London Assurance Corporation London, Eng. 

London and Lancashire Liverpool, Eng. 

Mannheim Mannheim, Ger. 

Marine — Ltd London, Eng. 

Moscow Moscow, Rus. 

Munich " Munich, Ger. 

National Assurance . Dublin, Ire. 

Northern Assurance Aberdeen & London, G. B. 

North British and Mercantile London & Edinburg, G. B. 

Norwich Union *... .Norwich, Eng. 

Palatine — Ltd London, Eng. 

Phoenix Assurance London, Eng. 

Prussian National Stetting, Ger. 

Reliance Marine Liverpool, Eng. 

Rossia St. Petersburg, Rus. 

Royal Liverpool, Eng. 

Royal Exchange Assurance London, Eng. 

Scottish Union and National Edinburg, Scot. 

Sea — Ltd Liverpool, Eng. 

Skandia Stockholm, Sweden. 

State Fire — Ltd Liverpool, Eng. 

Sun Insurance Office London, Eng. 

Svea Fire and Life — Ltd Gothenburg, Sweden. 

Thames and Mersey Marine Liverpool, Eng. 

Trans- Atlantic Hamburg, Ger. 

Union Assurance Society London, Eng. 

Union Marine — Ltd _ Liverpool, Eng. 

Western Assurance Toronto, Can. 

Addison Farmers Mutual Addison. 

Coal Operators Mutual Springfield. 

Farmers and Threshers Mutual Paris. 

Illinois Mutual Fire Underwriters Chicago. 

Lumbermens Mutual Chicago. 

Millers Mutual Fire Ass'n Alton. 

Millers National Chicago. 



74 

Mill Owners Mutual Chicago. 

National Mutual Church Chicago. 

Protection Mutual Chicago. 

Retail Merchants Ass'n Springfield. 

Central Manufacturers Mutual VanWert, O. 

Cotton and Woolen Manufacturers Boston, Mass. 

Farmers Fire York, Pa. 

Grain Dealers National Mutual Indianapolis, Ind. 

Indian Millers Indianapolis, Ind. 

Industrial Mutual Boston, Mass. 

Keystone Mutual Philadelphia, Pa. 

Manton Mutual Philadelphia, Pa. 

Mercantile Mutual Providence, R. I. 

Michigan Millers Mutual Lansing, Mich. 

Ohio Millers Mutual Canton, O. 

Philadelphia Manufacturers Philadelphia, Pa. 

Rubber Manufacturers Boston, Mass. 

A WORD WITH YOU. 

There are evolutions in crime, just as are there ad- 
vancements in business, and evil often keeps pace with 
good. For every step of progress made by the safe 
manufacturer, the cracksman has found some new 
measure to offset or attack the improvement made. 
The simple key-lock strong box was amenable to 
powder — the elegant fire-proof, burglar-proof, water- 
proof, cross-sectioned safe of to-day, shrivels before 
nitro-glycerine. The principle applies to insurance 
crooks. While one group has been scattered, its mem- 
bers may eventually steal from cover, and meet new 
conditions with new cleverness. Therefore, the vic- 
tims of the "Wild-catter" may well ask : "What guar- 
antee have I that I will not be bit again?" 

There is one solid Rock of Safety, and one only. 
The high ideal of perfect fire assurance is the model 
recognized by those authorities, who are appointed 
solely to sift out the bad from the good, and leave in 
the measure of equity pure gold. 

Read your Policy — then scan the official list, com- 



75 

prising companies safeguarded by the Board of Un- 
derwriters, the legalized Insurance Departments, and, 
tacitly, by the United States government — corpora- 
tions manned by persons of standing and good record, 
companies whose statements bear the seal of reliabil- 
ity, and who never evade the payment of a just loss. 

The list presented has undergone the close scrutiny 
of all those authorities named, has stood the test of 
time and business principle, and includes only the 
substantial insurance companies admitted to do busi- 
ness in this State, after complying with every require- 
ment of the rigid laws, formed to protect the interests 
of the assured to the last dollar. 

Good fire insurance is a tangible asset, just as a con- 
nection with a good bank is a guarantee of discretion 
and reliability. Second-class insurance invites disap- 
pointment. "Wild Cat" insurance is worse than none. 
In the present condition of a purified situation, brought 
about by Detective Wooldridge's busy efforts, it is 
the duty of every man to send out this warning, to 
reach those whose environment or inexperience have 
not admitted of a general knowledge of affairs, so that, 
should the Wild-catter steal forth frorn his lair and 
try to do business in obscure quarters, he may be 
nailed. 

This graphic screed is a true history and a warning. 
It is something more ; it is a guide, and the writer has 
only to add his absolute endorsement of the standard 
fire insurance companies herein named. 



76 A YEAR WITH THE GRAFTERS 



Chicago, 111., Jan. i, 1906, 
Mr. John M. Collins, 

General Superintendent of Police. 

I respectfully report the following duties performed 
and results obtained during the year 1905 : 

First : — The work assigned to me has been that of in- 
vestigating and ferreting out schemes and devices by 
means of which Get-Rich-Quick swindlers perpetrate 
frauds upon the public. 

A conservative estimate of the sum contributed annual- 
ly by this highly civilized nation to " safe-investment " 
and " Get-Rich-Quick " swindlers is $150,000,000. 

While I do not anticipate the public will heed my warn- 
ing, I believe the exposition of such operations herein 
contained will at least arouse post-office authorities and 
the press to a realizing sense of their duty in the premises. 

To the swindler the public includes all classes, from the 
laundress to the lawyer, the merchant to the clergyman. 
It dwells on farms, ranches and plantations, in huts, 
hovels and mansions ; it is found in every hamlet, village 
and city in this broad land. No matter how remote the 
victim, distance is quickly bridged by Uncle Sam's fast 
mail and thus the most highly efficient department of the 
most enlightened government is perverted into a drain 
through which the wealth of the public flows into the 
hands of the " Get-Rich-Quick " specialist. 

Sometimes the swindler is . a " respectable " citizen, 
(< leading banker " or " broker," who organizes a stock 



77 



company to lure fleecy lambs to a shearing; at others 
he is a " sport " with a scheme to tap poolroom wires 
and " beat the races ;" again he is a spectacular ad- 
venturer from the west who startles large communities 
by a meteoric career of deliberately planned but seeming- 
ly reckless expenditure of large sums of money " taken " 
from a salted mine, stock in which is offered for sale; 
and too often he is the unprincipled charlatan that preys 
upon the credulity of invalids and robs them of the last 
few dollars that were hoarded to deprive approaching 
death of its terrors. 

Of the vast sums annually wrung from the thrifty by 
false pretenses about $20,000,000 are spent for newspaper 
advertising; an equal amount for blackmail, attorneys'' 
fees, circulars, booklets, stenographers, clerks, telegrams, 
and the maintenance of handsome suites of offices. The 
swindler recklessly squanders his ill-gotten gains. - 

I do not believe any one has ever had an opportunity 
to make a more careful and systematic investigation of 
fraudulent methods for obtaining money than have I 
during the past eight years. 

Were the census enumerators of the United States to 
compile a list of the " sucker " public the gullible ones 
would aggregate tens of millions. There is not a town- 
ship in this great nation that does not contain its portion 
of confiding persons who are ready to believe anything, 
from the rankest catch-penny advertisement to a fallacy 
in theological dogma. 

They are willing to open up their hearts to unknown 
matrimonially inclined correspondents ; to accept as gos- 
pel the incredible statements of impostors and to pay 



78. 

out money coined by hard toil for something which the 
reason of a child should tell them it is beyond the power 
of man to provide. 

They are easy prey alike to religious and political im- 
postors and materialistic adventurers. My investigations 
for years past into the innermost secrets of swindlers 
and the observations incidental to my official experiences 
disclosing how victims are drawn into the net of the 
grafter, impel the belief that their faith passes beyond 
the bounds of credulity into the domain of imbecility. 

Ample documentary evidence is in my possession to 
substantiate this statement. From the mountains of 
mail at hand, written by " suckers," I can produce enough 
signatures to form a chain miles in length. Post marks 
on the letters represent every nook and corner in the 
great and glorious United States of America where reign 
liberty and human equality; where "All men are created 
free and equal " and within whose boundaries dwell " the 
sharpest, shrewdest and most advanced people in the 
world." 

Is it not enough to make an intelligent American 
blush to see thousands of his fellow men throwing money 
to the man who proclaims that for a few pennies he will 
impart the wonderful secret of raising the dead, or how 
to make one dollar gain a million, or how to baffle the 
savants of science after a day's research ? 

Chicago has become the principal distributing center 
whence issues the seductive literature of " Get-Rich- 
Quick " schemes. Every postal car speeding out of its 
limits groans under a burden of mail to be scattered in 
all directions. 



Id 



Uncle Sam furnishes the fish pole. The bait is -attached 
to his red and green stamps. He jerks the " sucker " 
out of the sea of credulity onto the sharp rocks of reality, 
gasping and floundering from " con " men to " skin " 
lawyers, his tender body cut and bruised upon each new 
point of experience. 

This city was infested by a formidable community of 
swindlers, who invaded all ranks of life. They promoted 
many specious schemes to lure the elusive dollar from the 
pockets of unwary victims. These operatives are sharp, 
smooth and unscrupulous — the most dangerous of crim- 
inal perverts. They are received with open arms in social 
and business circles. Their contributions to the church 
plate are accepted without an unsavory taint arising and 
entering the nostrils of the collector. Their wives and 
daughters visit in automobiles, dazzle at social functions 
and parade before the admiring eyes of gaping " suckers " 
in silks, satins, furs and diamonds. 

* With sun-shaded eyes scanning the distance these birds 
of prey skim the fair horizon of human faith. Of this 
brood some are the eagles of crime while others are 
patent medicine vultures. 

Every time a " Get-Rich-Quick " bubble bursts there 
rollows a long, dreary story of misplaced confidence. 
The exposure of fraud unfolds the incredible credulity 
cf human beings. But as soon as active publicity ceases 
the dearly bought lesson is forgotten and the " sucker " 
is ready to spring for the next tempting bait. A major- 
ity of " Get- Rich -Quick " cor cents secure their victims 
through the newspapers. Their printed advertisements 



80 



are plainly intended to gull the unwary and deprive the 
ignorant of their savings. 

Each day I carefully scan local, domestic and foreign' 
papers for advertisements inviting investment in schemes 
of questionable character. The information thus obtained 
together with literature and complaints sent to the Police 
Department to aid investigation during the past year 
has been closely examined by me. Whenever a man 
or concern could not show 7 a " clear bill of health '' I have 
forced him to " disinfect, depart or submit to the quaran- 
tine of the county jail." 

Without fear or favor I have inaugurated crusades 
and waged wars against the hosts of criminal enterprise. 
By vigilance and hard work I have succeeded in obtain- 
ing good results. Units, scores, and legions of fraud- 
ulent concerns have been exposed and driven out of 
existence. 

Owners of others, anticipating exposure, did not wait 
but closed their places and fled. Many headquarters of 
contraband schemes have been raided and their promoters 
arrested, fined and forced to cease operations. During 
the past year retributive justice has been visited upon 
countless heads that were devoted to devising criminal 
schemes. 

I have the honor to report that to-day Chicago is 
freer from " Get-Rich-Quick " concerns than at any time 
during the previous twenty-five years. In obtaining this 
result I have been aided by the Postal authorities, es- 
pecially by Colonel James Stuart, Chief Inspector of 
Mails of Chicago, and his staff of inspectors. From the 
editors and reporters of the daily papers, who are among 



81 

the brightest and most talented men in all walks and 
professions of life, I have received much assistance. I 
have worked hand in hand with them. They have trav- 
eled with me in the dead hours of the night during my 
efforts to suppress crime or track a criminal and have 
often given me assistance in the way of suggestions. 



WAYS IN WHICH THE PUBLIC IS ROBBED. 

Five years ago the game of promoting, which previously 
was followed by lightning-rod agents and wild-cat mine 
developers, was taken up in Wall street. Men who had 
been content to gamble on the rise or fall of stock 
undertook to create prices for created certificates. 

Rogers tried it and. succeeded. He found that the 
lightning-rod agent's game had boundless possibilities. 
He saw that by inflaming the developing madness for 
money he could sell nothing for something. 

Morgan followed Rogers. He capitalized all the iron 
in the earth and sold it. Then the madness for money 
was on. 

Buncoing the public became part of the country's 
financial system. 

The plain business of theft was regarded as an an- 
tiquated system and the " Honest Grafter " began. He 
is called honest because he always has big lawyers at 
his elbow, to pilot him through the channels of infamy 
the law has not charted. 

The grafting politician who was formerly a cheap 
thief, developed his art into a business. 



82 



Through the rise and fall of Amalgamated Copper a 
hundred millions of dollars was stolen from honest 
investors. 

United States Steel sprung into existence. Values of 
$600,000,000 were capitalized for $1,500,000,000 and the 
stock was unloaded on the public. The stock went down, 
down, down until the victims were cleaned out. Then the 
stock was bid in at its actual value and the public frozen 
out. 

The Shipbuilding Trust, with values representing no 
more than $2,000,000 was stocked for $80,000,000. The 
inflated stock was floated and again was the public robbed. 

Commerce was perverted into a saturnalia of promotion, 
stock jobbing and stealing. 

The poison spread. The Life Insurance Companies 
went into Wall street. Five hundred millions of the 
policyholders' money was squandered in speculation, 
bribery and debauchery. 

Senators were bribed, Governors bought and State 
Legislatures put on the auctioneers' block. 

Thieving extended into the departments of government. 
Postal officials bought and sold contracts and privileges. 

The Agricultural Bureau established an underground 
route from the capitol to Wall street and millions were 
stolen through private information on government crop 
reports. 

We have United States Senators who are convicted of 
land swindles and other criminal frauds and Congress- 
men under jail sentences for stealing. 

In the West exists the Beef Trust which robs the 
cattle grower and the consumer without partiality and 






THIEVING BANKERS 83 

cuts the throat of the packer who will not join in the 
theft. 

In Peoria is presented the spectacle of an educator 
turned thief and robbing the citizens of half a million. 

In Milwaukee a banker stole $2,000,000 and poured it 
into the bottomless pit of speculation. 

In Pittsburg a bank cashier, after allowing Republican 
and state officials to rob the institution, blew out his 
brains. His bank is out $2,000,000. 

SOME METHODS OF ROBBERY BY CHICAGO 
FAKE CONCERNS. 

Wildcat Insurance $10,000,000 

Fake Mines and Oil Wells 8,000,000 

Turf Swindles 7,500,000 

Home Buying Swindles 6,000,000 

Fake Bond and Investment Companies 6,000,000 

Bucket Shops 5,000,000 

Blind Pools in Grain and Stocks 5,000,000 

Pool Rooms and Hand Books 5,000,000 

Fake Mail Order Houses 3,000,000 

Ordinary Gambling Houses 2,500,000 

Panel Houses 2,400,000 

Matrimonial Bureaus 1,000,000 

Miscellaneous Fake Concerns 1,000,000 

Fake Underwriting 500,000 

Fake Banks 500,000 

Collecting Agencies , 500,000 

Fake Medicine Companies 500,000 

Clairvoyants, Fortune Tellers, palmists, etc. . 500,000 



84 



Bogus Charities . . . . » 300,000 

Wire Tappers ...... 200,000 

Fraudulent Employment Agencies 200,000 

We are at the beginning of a changing order. 

There is a revolt on in this country. It is a peaceful 
revolution that will be fought with the ballot. 

The people are thinking. They may be slow thinkers, 
but when they realize just what is going on they will 
set matters right. 

BUCKETSHOPS RAIDED. 

March 10th, Logan, Roche & Co., 263-265 La Salle St., 
raided and closed. 

August nth, Frank White & Co., 263 La Salle St., 
raided, closed, literature seized and destroyed by order 
of the Court. Frank White was arrested and on a plea 
of guilty fined $50.00 for keeping a common gaming 
house by justice John R. Caverly. 

August nth, Mansfield & Hall, room 802, 21 Ouincy 
St., raided, literature and equipment seized and destroyed 
by order of the Court. Margaret Mansfield, keeper, 
arrested, and on plea of guilty of running a common 
gaming house fined $50.00 by Justice John R. Caverly. 

August nth, Williams, Young & Co., owned and run 
by Ernest E. Jones, 226 La Salle St., raided and closed ; 
literature and paraphernalia seized and ordered destroyed 
by the Court. Ernest Jones and inmates arrested. On 
the plea of guilty of "keeping a common gaming house 
Jones was fined $50.00 by Justice John R. Caverly. Other 
warrants were taken out for his arrest but he drew money 



A DEAD-SURE SNAP 



85 




RAIDING A BUCKET SHOP 



86 



deposited in the bank, and left the city ; is now a fugitive 
from Justice. 

August nth, W. A. Gleeson & Co., 112 Quincy St., 
raided and closed; paraphernalia seized and ordered de- 
stroyed by Court. W. A. Gleeson arrested and on plea 
of running a common gaming house fined $25.00 by 
Justice Thomas Bradwell. 

August nth, Weimer & Co., operated by Hotchkiss 
& Co., 108 La Salle St.; raided and closed; literature 
seized and ordered destroyed. Weimer and Hotchkiss 
evaded arrest and are now fugitives from justice. Two 
inmates arrested ; pleaded guilty to being inmates of 
common gaming house and fined $1.00 and costs apiece 
by Justice John R. Caverly. 

August nth, Fleet Hoyt & Co., 218 La Salle St., raided 
and closed. Implements and literature seized and ordered 
destroyed; owners and pTomoters evaded arrest. 

August nth, F. J. Holzapfel & Co., 226 La Salle St., 
raided and closed. F. H. Holzapfel and fourteen inmates 
arrested. Holzapfel indicted by Grand Jury ; is awaiting 
trial. Paraphernalia held as evidence. 

Holzapfel & Co. tried to secure an injunction to prevent 
John M. Collins, General Superintendent of Police, and 
myself, from interfering with his illegal business, which 
was denied by the Court. 

August nth, J. F. McChesney & Co., 127 La Salle 
St., raided and closed. F. J. McChesney secured tem- 
porary injunction restraining John M. Collins, General 
Superintendent of Police, and myself from interfering 
with his bucketshop, which was dissolved. J. F. 
McChesney was again raided Sept. 20th, literature and 



DEFINITION OF A BUCKETSHOP 87 

implements seized. He was indicted by the Grand Jury 
and awaits trial. 

September 22d, Thomas Davies & Co., room 318 
Rookery Bldg., 217 La Salle St., raided and closed. 

WHAT IS A BUCKETSHOP? 

I have frequently been requested to define bucketshops 
— a most difficult task, owing to the variety of disguises 
which they assume and the outward similarity which they 
bear to legitimate brokerage houses. The following 
definition covers the essential features of bucketshops 
from the standpoint of an expert. 

A BUCKETSHOP is an establishment conducted nom- 
inally and ostensibly for the transaction of a grain, 
cotton or stock exchange business. The proprietor, 
with or without the consent of the patron, takes one side 
of every deal that is made in his place, the patron taking 
the other, no article being bought or sold in any public 
market. Bucketshops counterfeit the speculative trading 
on exchanges. Continuous market quotations of an 
exchange are the essence, the very sinew of the gambling 
business carried on in a bucketshop, being used as dice 
are used, to determine the result of a bet. 

The market quotations posted in a bucketshop are 
exactly similar to those posted in a legitimate broker's 
office, but they are displayed for a different purpose. 
The broker posts the quotations for the purpose of show- 
ing what the market has been on the exchange as a 
matter of news. The bucketshop posts them as the terms 
Upon which its patrons may make bets with the keeper. 



88 



A bucketshop is destroyed if it loses its supply of quota- 
tions. 

Margins deposited with the bucketshop proprietor by 
the patrons are nothing but the patrons' stakes to the 
wager and are appropriated by the proprietor when the 
fluctuations of the. price on the exchange whose quota- 
tions are the- basis of the bet, reach the limit of the 
deposit, one party (the proprietor) to the bet acting 
as stakeholder. The commissions charged by the bucket- 
shop-keepers are odds in its favor, and necessary in order 
to maintain their pretense of being legitimate brokers 
making the transaction on an exchange. 

The bucketshop proprietor is ready to make all deals 
offered in any commodity that fluctuates in price. He 
may call himself banker and broker or commission mer- 
chant, or disguise his business under the form of an in- 
corporated enterprise or exchange. But he is still a 
common gambler. The interest of the proprietor of a 
bucketshop is at all times opposed to that of his patrons, 
as the profits of the shop are measured by the losses of 
the patrons. 

Bucketshops should not be confounded with the great 
public markets of the world, where buyer and seller, 
producer and consumer, investor and speculator meet 
in legitimate trade ; for the pretended buying of millions 
of bushels of grain in bucketshops will not add a fraction 
of a cent to the price of the product of the farm, nor 
will the pretended selling of as much increase the 
supplies of the consumer or lessen the cost of his loaf 
a farthing. Nor should they be confounded with the 



89 



offices of legitimate brokers which they endeavor to imi- 
tate in appearance. 

The term " bucketshop," as now applied in the United 
States, was first used in the late '70s. It was coined in 
London fifty years ago, when it had absolutely no refer- 
ence to any species of speculation or gambling. Beer 
swillers from the East Side (London) went from street 
to street with buckets, draining every keg they came 
across and picking up cast-off cigar butts. Arriving 
at a den they gathered for social amusement around a 
table and passed the bucket as a loving cup, each taking 
a " pull " as it came his way. 

In the interval were smoking and rough jokes. The 
den,came to be called a bucketshop. Later the term was 
applied, both in England and the United States, as a 
byword of reproach to small places where grain and stock 
deals were counterfeited. 

Bucketshops have been condemned by statutes as crim- 
inal and pernicious in many states in the Union, but 
anti-bucketshop laws are rarely enforced by public serv- 
ants whose duty it is to enforce them. Prosecutions 
thus far, except in Illinois, have been left to private 
citizens or associations for the suppression of gambling. 

The " bucketshop " has, within a few years past, sprung 
from comparative inconsequence into an institution of 
formidable wealth and threatening proportions. There 
are nearly a thousand in the United States. Every 
large city in the west has at least one. Having banded 
together in a strong combination they sneer at legisla- 
tion. Opulent and powerful they . scoff at antagonistic 
public opinion. 



90 



The " bucketshop " like the lottery and the farobank 
finds its profits in its customers' losses. If its patrons 
" buy " wheat and wheat goes up the " bucketshop " 
loses. 

Many a bucketshop commission merchant would hardly 
know wheat from oats and none of their grain and prod- 
uce " exchanges " ever had a sample-bag on its counters. 
Their transactions are wagers and their existence is an 
incitement to gambling under the guise of commercial 
transactions. The pernicious influences of the gaming 
house are in the bucketshop revived with the allurement 
of a cloak of respectability and the assumption of busi- 
ness methods. 

The legitimate exchange is a huge time and labor 
saving machine. Its benefits are universal. While its 
privileges are valuable they have been rendered so only 
by hard work and its members are entitled to the protec- 
tion of the state against thieves. The " bucketshop " 
is a thief. The quotations upon which the " bucket- 
shop " trades are the product of the labor and intelligence 
and information of the exchange. The exchange gathers 
its news at great cost from all over the globe and dis- 
seminates it for public advantage. But its quotations 
should be its own property. They are the direct product 
of its energy, its foresight and its business sagacity. 

The " bucketshop," at no parallel cost, usurps the func- 
tions of the exchange and endeavors to secure for itself 
the returns for a labor performed by others. Were it 
to use honorable methods with its patrons it would be 
a dishonorable institution. Using the methods it does, 
the " bucketshop " is twice dishonored. 



91 

As a matter of fact, all other forms of gambling or 
swindling are commonplace and comparatively innocent 
when compared to the " bucketshop " which has caused 
more moral wrecks, more dismantled fortunes and made 
more of the innocent suffer than any other agency of 
diabolism. Just why so brazen an iniquity in the guise 
of speculation- should be allowed to exist it is difficult to 
explain. 

Open gambling has been placed under the ban of civic 
reform. While the policy shop, the lottery and other less 
dangerous methods of swindling have been effectively 
stamped out of most cities, the " bucketshop tiger " con- 
tinues to rend the ambitions of young and old, dragging 
them down to forgery, embezzlement, suicide, — or that 
which is quite as bad,— broken spirit for legitimate en- 
deavor. Under the circumstances the sympathy of the 
public should be with the movement to drive " bucket- 
shops " out of business, to close them along with all other 
gambling institutions. 

It is time that something was done to check the grow- 
ing evil of gambling on produce, cotton and stock ex- 
change quotations. A beginning has been .made, but 
the movement has not gone far enough. These excres- 
cences have multiplied rapidly and so dangerously near 
do they come to being popular that the mercantile com- 
munity owes it to itself to apply the knife at once. 

Moreover there is no form of gambling more disastrous 
to the player than " bucketshop " gambling. Its semi- 
respectability and likeness in many outward features to 
regular and reputable commission houses makes it the 



92 

mosl insidious of all temptations to the young specula- 
tor and aspirer after wealth. It is the open door to ruin. 

Men do not blush at being seen in a " bucketshop " 
as they would if caught in a faro bank or poker room 
though they are drawn thither by the same passion for 
gambling that takes them to the regular gambling den. 
The " bucketshop " successfully carries on a worse swin- 
dling game than the " blacklegs." The wealth the chief 
" bucketshop " men of the country have acquired proves 
this. Men can be pointed out in Chicago, New York 
and other cities of the country who have amassed fortunes 
at the business while their thousands of victims are im- 
poverished and ruined. 

Persons desiring to speculate or invest can avoid 
" bucketshops " and " fake " brokers by making a pre- 
liminary and independent investigation into the character 
of the broker and the merits of the enterprise. If they 
accept the statements and references of promoters of 
schemes without making such investigations they are 
not entitled to sympathy if they are robbed. 

Legitimate brokers do not resort to sensational ad- 
vertising ; they do not guarantee profits ; nor do they 
solicit funds to invest on their judgment. The functions 
of a broker or commission merchant are to receive and 
execute the order of his customers. When he offers to 
do more (except in thg way of giving market news, ad- 
vice or conservative opinions) he should be avoided. 
Promoters of pools and syndicates and disseminators of 
advance information should be carefully avoided. 



SPECULATION VS. GAMBLING. 



Definitions and comparisons ; they are separate and dis- 
tinct acts ; service of the speculator to the farmer. 

I think it is well to define speculation and margins 
and gambling and wagers, so that there may be a clearer 
understanding of the distinctions made throughout this 
report. 



Speculation 
(Enc. Diet.) 
The act or practice of buy- 
ing goods, stock, etc., or of 
incurring extensive risks, with 
a view to an increased profit 
or success in trade ; the buy- 
ing of goods, shares, stocks, 
or other purchasable commod- 
ity, in expectation of a rise in 
the market, and thus securing 
a gain to the buyer, or of sell- 
ing commodities in the expec- 
tation that prices will fall, and 
thus the seller will be able to 
buy similar commodities back 
again at a lower price. 

Speculation 
(Century Diet.) 
The investing of money at a 
risk of loss on the chance of 
unusual "gain ; specifically buy- 
ing and selling, not in the or- 
dinary course of commerce 
for continuous marketing of 
commodities, but to hold in the 
expectation of selling at a 
profit upon a change in values 
of market rates. 

Margin 
(Century Diet.) 
The sum in money, or rep- 



G ambling— Legal Definition 
The art or practice of ac- 
quiring money or property by 
hazard or chance ; an agree- 
ment between two or more, to 
risk money upon a contin- 
gency, or chance of any kind, 
where one must be loser and 
the other gainer. 

Whenever money or other 
valuable consideration is haz- 
arded and may be lost, or more 
than the value be obtained by 
chance, it is gaming, nor will 
any name or device take it out 
of this category. 

Wager 
(Enc. Diet) 
Something deposited, staked 
or hazarded on the event of a 
contest or some unsettled ques- 
tion ; something staked by each 
of two persons in support of 
his opinion concerning a fu- 
ture or unknown event ; a 
stake. The party whose opin- 
ion proves to be correct re- 
ceives what has been staked by 
both. By statute of the United 
States all contracts or agree- 
ments whether in writing or 
parol, depending on wagers, 
are null and void, and the 
93 



94 



resented by security,- deposited 
by a speculator or trader with 
his broker as a provision 
against loss on transactions 
made on account. 

Margin 

(Webster's Diet) 
Collateral security deposited 
with a broker to secure him 
for loss on contracts entered 
into by him on behalf of his 
principal, as in the speculative 
buying and selling of stocks, 
wheat, etc. 



wager or money due thereon 
cannot be recovered in a court 
of law. A wager lost is, 
therefore, only a debt of honor. 

Wager 

(Webster's Diet.) 
A contract by which two 
parties or more agree that a 
certain sum of money, or other 
thing shall be paid or delivered 
to one of them, on the hap- 
pening or not happening of an 
uncertain event. 

Bet 
(Webster's Diet.) 
That which is laid, staked, 
or pledged, as between two 
parties, upon the event of a 
contest or any contingent is- 
sue. 



PENALTY FOR KEEPING "BUCKETSHOP." 

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois 
represented in the General Assembly : That it shall be 
unlawful for any corporation, association, co-partnership 
or person to keep or cause to be kept within this state 
any " bucketshop," office, store or other place, wherein 
is conducted or permitted the pretended buying, or sell- 
ing of the shares of stocks or bonds of any corporation, 
or petroleum, cotton, grain, provisions or other produce, 
either on margins or otherwise, without any intention of 
receiving and paying for the property so bought, or of 
delivering the property so sold; or wherein is conducted 
or permitted the pretended buying or selling of such 
property on margins ; or when the party buying any of 
such property, or offering to buy the same, does not 



95 

intend actually to receive the same if purchased or to 
deliver the same if sold ; and the keeping of all such 
places is hereby prohibited. And any corporation or per- 
son, whether acting individually or as a member, or as 
an officer, agent or employe of any corporation, associa- 
tion, or co-partnership, who shall be guilty of violating 
this section . shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in 
any sum not less than $200, and not more than $500, and 
any person or persons who shall be guilty of a second 
offense under this statute, in addition to the penalty 'above 
described, shall, upon conviction be imprisoned in the 
county jail for the period of six months, and if a cor- 
poration, shall be liable to forfeiture of its charter. And 
the continuance of such establishment after first con- 
viction shall be deemed a second offense. 

GAMBLING PROHIBITED. 

No persons shall deal, play or engage in faro, roulette, 
or gambling for money or other valuable thing, or any 
other device or game of chance, hazard, or skill, either 
as bookmaker, dealer, keeper, player, or otherwise, for 
the purpose of gaming or gambling for money or other 
valuable thing, under a penalty of not less than ten dol- 
lars nor more than two hundred dollars for each offense. 

VISITOR, KEEPER, RUNNER, ETC. 

Every person who shall patronize, visit, frequent, or 
be connected with the management or operation, or who 
shall act as the doorkeeper, solicitor, runner, agent, abet- 
tor, or pimp of any house, room, yard boat, vessel, or 
other structure, place or premises kept within the city 



96 



for the purpose of permitting persons to game or gam- 
ble for any valuable thing, shall be fined not less than 
twenty-five dollars nor more than fifty dollars for each 
offense. 

LICENSE. 

It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation to 
operate, use or maintain any ticker or other device or 
instrument for the receiving, recording or registering 
of printed news, intelligence or other information of 
any kind or character whatsoever, without a license for 
each ticker or other device, or instrument, the license to 
be issued to the person or corporation owning or operat- 
ing the same. 

MARRIAGE BUREAUS. 

Jan. 3d, Edward Morris, attorney-at-law, 82 Madison 
St., Marriage Bureau. Raided, closed and evidence sub- 
mitted to Postal Authorities for investigation and ac- 
tion. 

Jan. 4th, J. H. Hunter Marriage Bureau, 164 E. Ran- 
dolph St., operated by Oscar L. Wells and J. H. Carsom 
Raided and closed. Oscar Wells arrested and fined $50 
by Justice John K. Prindeville. 

Jan. 9th, Henry Curran Marriage Bureau, 1242 Wa- 
bash Ave. Raided and closed; Curran fined $100 by Jus- 
tice John R. Caverley. 

April 19th, Jesse H. Lee Marriage Bureau, 84 Wash- 
ington St., conducted by J. H. Carson and J. R. Fergus- 
on. Ferguson was arrested and fined $15 by Justice 
Caverley. 



COMING AND GOING 



97 







9 






I! £Ma© 




THE MARRIAGE ASSOCIATION GRAFTERS SWINDLE THE 
PEOPLE OUT OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. The man- 
ager meets his applicants at the door with a courtly manner, 
shows them nattering opportunities for a rich or handsome hus- 
band or wife, as they may desire; gets all the money he can 
politely persuade out of them, and then puts them through the 
mill that makes them glad to get off alive. 



98 



May 1 2th, Mr. and Mrs. Delmonta Marriage Bureau, 
Twelfth and State St., operated by Oscar L. Wells, raided 
and closed. 

May 17th, Belmont Corresponding Club, 12-14 State 
St., run by George H. Belmont, " Doc. " Moses, M. Fel- 
cherman and Oscar L. Wells. Places raided; literature 
seized and destroyed by order of the court. Promoters 
arrested and Wells fined $200 by Justice John K. Prinde- 
ville. 

May 27th, Clay's American Bureau of Correspondence, 
62 Ada St., operated by J. H. Carson,, alias Goodman 
Clay. Raided and closed up. Carson arrested and fined 
$25 by Justice John K. Prindeville. 

May 29th, King's Agency, Lincoln Ave. and George 
St., conducted by Henry Curran, alias Lawrence King. 
Raided, literature seized and ordered destroyed by the 
court. Curran arrested and fined $100 by Justice John 
K. Prindeville. 

July 24th, H. C. Swift's Introduction Bureau, 380 
West Jackson Blvd. Raided, literature seized, and Harry 
Curran, alias H. C. Swift, arrested and turned over to 
the Postal Authorities to be held pending investigation 
and action. 

August 2 1st, The Ferguson Directory, 171 Washing- 
ton St., raided and closed. J. H. Carson and Jesse R. 
Ferguson, proprietors. Ferguson arrested and fined $25 
by Justice John K. Prindeville. 

August 23d, Rev. Joseph Spencer Marriage Bureau, 
80 East Madison St. Raided and closed, literature seized 
and turned over to the Postal Authorities. 



99 



August 25th, H. P. Bradley, attorney-at-law, Marriage 
Bureau, 12c Randolph St. Raided and closed. 

August 26th, Henry H. Hudson Marriage Bureau, 79 
South Clark St. Raided and closed. 

August 30th, Robinson & Robinson, attorneys-at-law, 
Marriage Bureau, 120 Randolph St. Raided and closed. 
Evidence turned over to the Postal Authorities for ac- 
tion. 

August 27th, Orange Blossom Marriage Bureau, 59 
Dearborn St. Closed. 

September 5th, Professor LeRoy, The Astrologist Mar- 
riage Bureau, 175 Dearborn St. Raided and closed; evi- 
dence turned over to the Postal Authorities, who discon- 
tinued delivering mail. 

May 1 2th, The Warren Directory Marriage Bureau, 
897 Fulton St., and the Warren Directory Marriage Bu- 
reau, 833 Washington Blvd. Raided. Ike Warren ar- 
rested and fined $25 by Justice John Caverley. 

May 13th, Walter McDonnell, 483 West Madison St., 
Bureau raided and McDonnell arrested. Discharged 
on promising to eliminate all objectionable features from 
his agency. 

September 30th, National Employing Exchange, G. H. 
Cannon, manager, Ohio Block, 2000 Washington St 
Raided and closed. Oscar L. Wells and N. C. Collin' 
arrested by Postal Authorities for using the mails for 
fraudulent purposes. Wells was held to the Federal 
Gran J Jury. 

October 21st, L. B. McDonald Agency, 11957 Halsted 
St. Closed. 

L0FC, 



100 



THE VIGILANCE OF THE LAW 




WE NEVER SLEEP, 

DETECTIVES DISGUISED AS TRAMPS: "I am made all 
things to all men," says St. Paul. The Detective must also 
make himself all things to all men, that he may find and catch 
the rascals. To be up-to-date it is necessary to be able to as- 
sume as many disguises ^ p *here are classes of people among 
whom criminals hide. 



MATRIMONIAL AGENTS' METHODS. 

.To describe adequately the technicalities of the mar- 
riage bureau swindler's methods would be impossible 
wit'. out presenting actual copies of documents necessary 
to the system. Early in my investigations I made the 
discovery that the scores of matrimonial agencies, " in- 
♦roduction bureaus" and "marriage clubs" were using 
practically the same literature. Few departed from the 
stereotyped plan for " pulling'the suckers on." For the 
most part the prospectuses and " follow up " letters were 
identical. 

As often happened, however, when a victim was " land- 
ed right " and ventured to Chicago from his distant rural 
retreat prepared to carry out in earnest the game that 
had been worked upon him in a spirit of mercenary reck- 
lessness the methods of handling him were varied in re- 
spect to both finesse and effectiveness. 

Any person familiar with the uses of the typewriter 
easily could have discovered that the " personal " letters 
received from time to time were nothing more than cir- 
culars printed by the thousands. So vast was the num- 
ber of the gullible that seldom, if ever, was an actual, 
bona fide letter sent in reply to those from the victims. 

Space was left at the top of the stock letters for the 
insertion of the name of the person to whom it was sent. 
In their haste the swindlers often begrudged the 
time necessary to change the " Dear Sir " to " Dear Miss " 
or "Dear Madam " when a woman was addressed on 
stationery intended for male clients. 

The general uniformity of the literature was at first 

101 



102 

thought by me to indicate the matrimonial agencies were 
banded together in a gigantic trust. But later I learned 
that as they increased in number the newcomers exhibited 
conscienceless audacity in copying the forms used by 
their predecessors. It was also found in some cases sev- 
eral bureaus were operated from one address and one or 
two men, or a man and his wife, would represent half a 
dozen concerns by changing names and locations every 
thirty or sixty days. Because of these reasons and the 
added fact that whoever compiled the original forms from 
which the others copied realized he was in an illegitimate 
business and feared to prosecute the plagiarists. Thus the 
buncombe admistered to the suckers became uniform in 
phraseology. 

If a person desired to make assurance doubly sure for 
gaining wealth and marital bliss and he applied to sev- 
eral agencies at the same time the same mail would bring 
him letters from each bureau with which he communi- 
cated worded identically alike. They would be mime- 
ograph copies and the only difference in their appear- 
ance would be in the printed heading indicating the name 
of the agency. The name of the recipient would often 
be written at the top in ink different in color from the 
body of the letter. 

That the matrimonial agency business is not confined 
to Chicago and dupes of the system are found elsewhere 
than in rural communities and among the poor and hum- 
ble is demonstrated by recent revelations in Europe. Dur- 
ing one raid officers seized a large quantity of literature 
in the offices of a swindling concern doing business un- 
der the name of Mason Brown & Co. The " firm " adver- 



103 



tised itself as the largest of its kind in the world and the 
only one " indorsed by press and public and patronized 
by royalty," adding that its " clients and representatives 
were to be found in every land." 

In extra large type the information was conveyed to 
the victim that he or she need not be ashamed to resort 
to the agency method in order to secure a life partner as 
the royalty of Europe used this means exclusively in con- 
tracting marriages, especially in cases where American 
heiresses were sought as wives for titled but impecunious 
foreigners. 

When it was casually remarked during an examina- 
tion of a wagon load of Mason Brown & Company's ad- 
vertising matter the reference to the titles and heiresses 
was the only true statement it contained there were smiles 
of incredulity. American millionaires were said to be 
too shrewd and level-headed to enter into deals with mar- 
riage bureaus when the life-happiness of their fair and 
independent daughters is concerned. 

It was but a short time after this conversation, how- 
ever, that the following cablegram was published: 

" Aug. 25th. The alleged attempt to blackmail Count 
Franz Joseph Maria Von Larisch Monnich out of 200,000 
marks on a prenuptial note alleged to have been signed 
by the count, and the implication of army officers and 
members of the aristocracy in the marriage brokerage 
business, has caused more talk in high circles than any- 
thing which has happened since the elopement of Crown 
Princess Louise of Saxony. 

" It is said the Kaiser has determined to take a hand 
in the matter and insists that this business shall be stopped 



104 



finally and effectively on the ground it is bringing the 
army and nobility into disrepute and ridicule. 

STORY OF THE MARRIAGE SCHEME. 

" The story of the attempt on Count Larisch is not an 
unusual one. Briefly, the Count, who is an Austrian, but 
who has estates in Prussia, was anxious to replenish his 
treasury by marrying an heiress. A syndicate composed 
of the men now under indictment, it is said, financed him. 
He set out to marry the daughter of Faber, the multimil- 
lionaire pencil manufacturer of Nuremberg, giving his 
notes for $50,000 payable upon his marriage to Fraulein 
Faber. The venture was a failure for Fraulein Faber did 
not care to become Countess Larisch. The noble fortune 
hunter then went to America in quest of a bride. Wheth- 
er it was on his own account or under the auspices of 
another marriage syndicate, does not appear, though it is 
hinted the latter is the case. In any event, he was suc- 
cessful, and married Miss Satterlee of Titusville, Pa. 

" On his return the members of the Faber syndicate 
demanded payment and presented a note purporting to 
have been given by Larisch without the qualification that 
it was payable only after his marriage to the pencil manu- 
facturer's daughter. Larisch, regarding the Faber affair 
a closed incident, and declaring the note presented a for- 
gery, refused to pay. The matter got before the public 
prosecutor and the expose resulted. 

MARKET FOR AMERICAN HEIRESSES. 
" There has been more than one similar scandal involv- 
ing members of the high nobility and rich American 
girls. 



MILLIONAIRES' DAUGHTERS ON LIST 105 

" It will be remembered last year there was a stir cre- 
ated by the broadcast announcement that Prince Hugo 
Von Hoheniche-Oehringen, Prince Heinrich Von Hanan 
and Baron Rerhard-Muenhausen accused an Englishman, 
O'Brien, who was alleged to be the agent of Berlin mar- 
riage brokers, of attempted blackmail. 

" Among the Americans whose names are said to be on 
the list of this marriage syndicate are the Misses Angelica 
and Mabel Gerry, Miss Gladys Vanderbilt, the Misses 
Nora and Fannie Iselin, the Misses Adeline and^ Electa 
Havemeyer, Mrs. Lewis Rutherford Morris, formerly 
Miss Katherine Clark, daughter of Senator Clark of 
Montana ; Mrs. Francis Burton Harrison, formerly Miss 
Mary Crocker, daughter of Mrs. George W. Crocker; 
Miss Dorothy Whitney, the Misses Beatrice and Gladys 
Mills, Miss Gwendolyn Burden and the Misses Florence 
and Ruth Twombly. 

" The methods used, it is alleged are to place the young 
women in embarrassing positions." 

U. S. TO CRUSH MATRIMONIAL SWINDLES. 



Government Officials Roused by Many Frauds Through- 
out The Country. " Bureaus " to be Put Under Ban 
of Law. Hoch Case Cited as Sample of In- 
jury Worked Through Agencies. 

As a result of the many recent matrimonial scandals the 
Postoffice Department has decided, according to very 
high authority, to take steps toward curbing the activity 
of so-called matrimonial bureaus and agencies that cir- 



106 



culate papers or circulars giving the addresses of men 
or women seeking life partners through this medium. 

The harm done by these agencies is almost incalculable. 
Foolish women having money at their disposal fall easy 
victims to the many scheming scoundrels who make a 
practice of subscribing to the bureaus for the purpose of 
securing the addresses of prospective victims. 

As instances of the harm done by these bureaus the 
case of Johann Hoch, who married fifty women and is now 
under sentence of death in Chicago, may be cited as a 
glaring example. The case of Frederick Carlton, under 
indictment on two charges of grand larceny in Brooklyn, 
is another. 

It is stated on what seems to be reliable authority this 
man made the acquaintance of women in various parts of 
the country through the medium of matrimonial adver- 
tisements, married them and decamped with their money 
at the first favorable opportunity. 

Still another case has cropped out in that of Dr. Witz- 
hoff of New York. This man, according to his confes- 
sions published in the Chicago American of October 18, 
19, 20 and 21, 1905, married fifty women, and through 
his bigamous marriages obtained considerable sums of 
money and much jewelry from nearly a hundred women 
in various parts of the country and then deserted them. 

This business has proved so profitable that in nearly 
every large city of the country there are several matri- 
monial bureaus which furnish to their subscribers lists 
of the names and addresses of women seeking husbands, 
giving full particulars in regard to their financial stand- 
ing. 



107 



September 23, 1902, J. P. McCann operated the Bell 
Matrimonial Agency at 134 Van Buren St. It was closed 
by me. McCann was arrested, fined $100 and given an 
hour to leave the city. He fled to St. Louis, Mo., where 
he established a fraudulent marriage bureau, and was 
murdered about June, 1903, by F. Segmour Barrington, 
a bogus English lord, who is now under sentence of 
death at St. Louis, Mo. 

May 13, 1903, John J. Marietta, alias Homer C. Reid, 
Harold C. Mills, A. S. Anderson, C. H. Huston, C. B. 
McCoy, H. C. Jones, Harold C. Reed, Homer C. Reed, 
was arrested through exposure by Laura E. Strickler, a 
beautiful young girl from Cincinnati, Ohio, who boarded 
at the Young Women's Association, Chicago. He lured 
her to the Newport Hotel, 73 Monroe St., where he pro- 
posed marriage and attempted liberties. Miss Strickler 
became frightened, jumped from the second story win- 
dow, and was badly injured. 

Marietta married no less than six women, three of 
whom, Sophia Headley, Marie Butler and Flora Beals 
appeared in court to prosecute him September 28. He 
was convicted in Judge Brentano's court' of bigamy, and 
given five years in the Joliet penitentiary. 

Marietta said he secured most of his wives through the 
marriage bureaus. Mills said to Miss Headley after meet- 
ing her the second time : " How anxious are you to 
marry me? Make me an offer in cash of the sum you 
are willing to settle on me." " Three thousand dollars," 
she answered. " All right," he replied, " but you know 
I am from Missouri, you will have to show me." She 
gave him the $3,000 and they were married. 



108 A YEAR WITH THE GRAFTERS 

At the time of his conviction Marietta had in bank 
$25,000 said to have been secured in the above manner. 

LORD BERTIE CAVENDISH MARRIED MANY 

WIVES. IT IS SAID HE SECURED HIS VIC- 
TIMS THROUGH THE MARRIAGE BU- 
REAU, THEN ROBBED AND DE- 
SERTED THEM. 

Oct. 24, 1905, Miss Gladys Simmons, Hot Springs, 
Ark., married Lord Bertie Cavendish after two days' ac- 
quaintance. He represented himself to be of noble birth, 
son of the late Marquis of Queensbury, and to have im- 
mense possessions in South Africa and Mexico, which 
he was unabie to obtain on account of his banishment 
from England for serving in the Boer war due to the ac- 
tivity cf British army officers against him. 

Miss Simmons' mother received information that her 
son-in-law's name was not Lord Bertie Cavendish but 
Douglas. By photographs and further investigation his 
identity was established as that of an adventurer. 

Following is a partial list of his wives, several of whom 
have asked the court to grant them divorces. 

Miss Louisiana Hobbs, Lambert Point, Va., near Nor- 
folk. 

Mrs. Mabel Duncan, Denver, Colo. 

Mrs. Scott, South Bend, Ind. 

Mrs. Beatrice E. Anderson, Fort Worth, Texas. 

$50,000 VICTIMS IN AMERICA. . 
According to Mrs. Charlotte Smith, president of the 
Woman's International Rescue League, there have been 



109 



numerous industrious workers in the matrimonial vine- 
yard besides Mr. Hoch and Dr. Witzhoff. 

" There are today in the United States," she asserts, 
" no less than 50,000 women who have been married, 
robbed and deserted by professional bigamists." It might 
be inferred from this that women are much easier to en- 
tice into matrimony than men. Probably, however, this 
is an untenable conclusion. When a woman does start 
on marrying bent mere men fall before her like grain 
before the sickle. Miss Marion Rapp, now under arrest 
at Philadelphia, is known to have got eight husbands in 
three years, and is suspected of having captured six or 
eight more. Miss Rapp is still young, and if her career 
had not been untimely cut off she might have made a 
record that would have done credit (or discredit) to her 
sex. 

The sad experiences of people who have been victim- 
ized by gay deceivers, male and female, perhaps contain 
a lesson to persons who carelessly contemplate matri- 
mony. When a stranger proposes marriage at first 
sight it may possibly be well to take a look into his or 
her antecedents. This is not the most romantic way to 
proceed, but it is a way that may have great practical 
advantages. It probably would be indorsed by every 
one of the 50,000 women in this country who, according 
to Mrs. Charlotte Smith, are now looking for profes- 
sional bigamists who married them and ran away with 
their cash. 

February 12th, 1903, Judge Neely declared upon the 
bench, when he imposed a fine upon Hattie Howard for 
conducting a matrimonial bureau : "Men and women 



.0 

who are engaged in this business of promoting matri- 
mony are guilty of crime. It is opposed to the funda- 
mental principles of society. Such a practice should 
under no circumstances be tolerated. It is inconsistent 
with the highest ideals of what should constitute the 
proper marriage relations. I had intended to make an 
example of you, but as this is your first offense I will 
be lenient. Under ordinary circumstances no mercy 
should be shown. This practice should be stopped. The 
trade should be killed. The Courts should make it their 
business to extirpate such a practice. The Police De- 
partment of this city is entitled to a great deal of credit 
for what it has done in discouraging this business. I 
hope it will continue its vigilance until promoters of 
marriages of this character will give this city and coun- 
try a wide berth." 

Judge Kohlsaat, United States District Judge, said 
on March 20, 1903, when he passed sentence upon Jacob 
Strosser : ''The Police and Federal authorities should 
combine together, clean out these marriage bureaus and 
keep them suppressed. They are a menace to society and 
good government." This sentiment has been voiced by 
the public press throughout the country, and many of the 
papers will net take their advertisements. 

I would respectfully report that during the year 1902 
I raided and closed fifty-six marriage bureaus, securing 
and destroying 2,500,000 letters and 100,000 photographs. 
In the year 1903 I closed up thirty marriage bureaus; in 
1904 I raided and closed twelve bureaus. 

All persons who have been defrauded by any of the 
fake marriage bureaus should make complaints to the 



Ill 



Chief Inspector of Mails, Col.- James Stuart, Chicago 
Postoffice. All mail used in the swindle should be left 
with the Inspector, to be used as evidence against the 
perpetrators. 

BOGUS DRUG CONCERNS. 

May 25th, Edward A. Kuehmsted, 6323 Ingleside Ave., 
king and ringleader of the bogus drug dealers, was in- 
dicted on thirteen charges, for adulterating, selling, of- 
fering for sale and having in his possession adulterated 
medicines. 

May 25th, W. G. Nay, alias F. B. Soper, 1452 Fulton 
St. : two indictments. Awaiting trial. 

May 25th, Burtis D. McCarn, alias George A. Barton, 
613 1 Madison Ave. Two indictments. Awaiting trial. 

May 25th, George Ephraim, with offices in E. C. Picks' 
drug store, 477 Ogden Ave. ; three indictments, now a 
fugitive from justice; $100 reward offered by the Chief 
of Police for his arrest. 

May 25th, J. N. Levy, alias Charles Meyers, alias R. 
Waldron, operating under the name Franklin Drug Co. ; 
an ex-convict, with offices at 356 Dearborn St. ; five in- 
dictments. Levy has the following police record : 

He was arrested as Charles Marr at Kansas City, Mo., 
Aug. 23, 1892 ; fined $500 and given twenty-four hours to 
leave town. He was arrested at Chattanooga, Tenn., 
June 2"], 1897, as Henry Samuels; arrested at Indianap- 
olis, Ind., October 6, 1896, for loitering and was dis- 
charged; arrested as George Edwards from McLean 
county, 111., March 11, 1891, and sent to Joliet Peniten- 
tiary for one year; arrested as Charles Cramer, Wash- 



112 



ingior, D. C, May. 18, 1902, and turned over to the 
sheriff of Rockwell, Montgomery county, Md. ; released 
on bonds, which were afterward forfeited ; arrested in 
Chicago, March 17, 1893, as Harry Samuels for stealing 
a woman's pocket-book on a street car, and held in $500 
bonds for the Criminal Court. 

Oct. 29, 1904, I raided five bogus drug concerns, and 
seized eleven wagon loads of drugs, which afterward 
were turned over to the postal authorities, who filed 
charges against each defendant for using the mails for 
fraudulent purposes. The cases are still pending. 

The drugs imitated and sold by these people are Stand- 
ard Ethical preparations, dispensed on physicians' pre- 
scriptions by every retail druggist. 

These synthetic remedies are in such general use that at 
least one-half of the prescriptions written by physicians 
call for one of them. 

In Oct. 1904, of 139 retail druggists in Chicago, 111., 
who filled prescriptions calling for two drachms of Aris- 
tol, 107 dispensed the drug that was adulterated from 
twenty to one hundred per cent. 

The Standard Aristol retails for $1.85 an ounce. The 
Chicago adulterated Aristol costs two cents per ounce and 
is sold at any price the druggist can get. The Chicago 
bogus Aristol is principally composed of rosin, Fuller's 
earth and oxide of iron. 

The subjoined letter is self-explanatory : 

Chicago, July 24, 1902. 
My Dear Mr. Zaegel: 

Although I have been selling bogus Phenacetine and 
a lot of other bogus goods for over three years I have 



113 

never had the pleasure of selling you any of them. I 
should very much like to do so, and f ee l that 1 can give 
you satisfaction both in goods and prices. 

Some time ago I perfected arrangements to get my 
supplies direct from Europe, where the supply is not so 
limited as in Canada and I can do much better in price. 

The enclosed list gives my complete line. All items 
with prices attached I have in stock and can supply with- 
out delay. Other items are continually arriving. 

The prices I have made you, I think, are exceptionally 
low and I trust they will induce you to give me a trial. 

Express charges I prepay. 

Trusting I may be favored with your valued orders, 1 
am, Yours respectfully, 

Edw. A. Kuehmsted. 

Mr. M. R. Zaegel, 

Sheboygan, Wis. 

The genuine Aristol is an antiseptic used for healing 
wounds of all kinds, and sold throughout the entire world. 

It is said the use of the bogus medicine, which was 
sold by these peddlers and fakers, has caused untold suf- 
fering, injury and death throughout the entire country. 

Colonel Geo. G. Kimball, United States Postoffice In- 
spector, Chicago, 111., whose department lias charge of 
cases in which the mails are used for the sale of bogus 
medicines, says : "It is believed this spurious stuff was 
the cause of President McKinley's death." 

FROM ONE OF THE LEADING PAPERS. 

"Sowing and selling this spurious drug by the wayside, 
Taken by the poor, sick and afflicted people, 

Oh, what shall the harvest be? Ask the undertaker. 
If you are one of the jurymen who tries these men, 

Oh, what would your verdict be?" 



114 



FAKE DRUGS AND MEDICINES. 

Oct. 25th, The London System, 46 Van Biiren St., 
The Parisian System, 46 Van Bur en St., and The Su- 
perior System, 46 Van Buren St., raided; literature 
seized and ordered destroyed by the" court. Defendants 
were discharged upon hearing on the city charge of cir- 
culating improper medical literature in the city. The po- 
lice department was informed the postal authorities had 
a case against the defendants for using the mail for 
fraudulent purposes and all evidence gathered in the raid 
was turned over to them for investigation and action. 
Otto Henry and Oscar Rydstrom were arrested. 

Oct. 25th, The Vacuum System, 56 Fifth Ave., was 
raided and Fred Leach arrested ; literature seized and or- 
dered destroyed by the court. Defendant discharged 
upon hearing on the city charge of circulating improper 
medical literature in the city. The police department 
was informed the postal authorities had a case against 
the defendant for using the mail for fraudulent purposes 
and all evidence gathered in the raid was turned over 
to them for investigation and action. 

Oct. 25th, The Ausin System, 271 Wabash Av. was 
raided. The literature was seized and ordered destroyed 
by the court. Defendants were discharged upon hearing 
on the city charge of circulating improper medical litera- 
ture in the city. The police department was informed 
the postal authorities had a case against the defendants 
for using the mail for fraudulent purposes and all evi- 
dence gathered in the raid was turned over to them for 
investigation and action. Ed. Ausin and Ed. Lundy 
were arrested. 






115 



Oct. 25th, The Berlin System, 66 Van Buren St., was 
raided, and F. A. ITanscom arrested. Literature seized 
and ordered destroyed by the court. Defendant was dis- 
charged upon hearing on the city charge of circulating 
improper literature in the city. The police department 
was informed the postal authorities had a case against 
the defendants for using the mail for fraudulent purposes, 
and all evidence gathered in the raid was- turned over to 
them for investigation and action. 

BLACKMAILING UNDER GUISE OF PUBLISH- 
ING FINANCIAL PAPERS. 

Swarms of " financial papers '' infest the monetary 
atmosphere of the United States like flies in the super- 
heated air of a carcass-strewn desert- Their editors exer- 
cise the most discriminative care in tne selection of titles, 
which, to the casual reader may imply that the publica- 
tions are conducted by the highest type of financiers 
and the most impregnable financial institutions. These 
publishers apply the theory of the man who names the 
most explosive gasoline stove " The Safety." 

The fake journal is a potential factor in the field of 
fraud. The fake mercantile agency which reports ex- 
travagantly upon the responsibility and wealth of crim- 
inal schemers, was evolved from the fake financial paper. 
Both have cut a wide swath in the credulity of men 
and women. 

-Fake banks and bankers have come into existence for 
the completion of the work. All these agencies con- 
spire. They supply each other with an interchangeable 



116 



" sucker list." Their offices are a clearing house of 
crime. Their compilation of names includes men and 
women who have already afforded rich picking and still 
have enough money left to make them worth a second 
bait. . 

The first act of a swindler who is after the easily pro- 
curable money of the gullible is to establish a reputation 
for honor and stability. This he does by getting fake 
indorsements from so-called " reputable " commercial 
agencies and write-ups in questionable " financial " jour- 
nals. He pays both accomplices so liberally that they 
risk the state's prison whenever he desires their aid. 

Their indorsements he spreads broadcast. These prove 
an effective lure, for correspondents assume it is impos- 
sible for dishonest operatives to procure such strong rec- 
ommendations. 

I have known instances of fake banks being organized 
solely to give fraudulent concerns strong financial ref- 
erences. 

Many persons are deluded by these paid " blinds " for 
swindlers who are after " suckers' money." This warn- 
ing should be constantly borne in mind, otherwise vic- 
tims will regret when it is too late and their money 
reposes in pockets other than their own. 

A chicken on the plate is worth a whole flock of wild 
geese on the wing. Leave speculation for those who 
can afford to lose money. Be content with small but 
certain returns and run none of the risks which a great 
percentage involves. 

No man will give you a dollar for fifty cents unless 



117 



the dollar is a counterfeit. All over the land are fraudu- 
lent offers to make people rich for a few dollars. . 

All pastors ought to enlighten their congregations on 
the methods of Get-Rick-Quick swindlers for among the 
church members are large numbers of confidmg persons 
who are constantly fleeced and plundered by fakers. It 
is to the interest of preachers to assist in this fight against 
frauds as did Dr. Peters of Philadelphia. 

The bona-fide circulation of most " financial " sheets 
consists of a barely sufficient number of subscribers to 
admit them to the service of the postoffice department as 
newspaper matter. The balance of the circulation is 
made up of marked copies sent out by investment firms 
that have been induced to accept proposals from these 
papers. Invariably these marked papers are found to 
contain " editorial notices " lauding the company. 

The editor comprises the entire staff. He does the 
editorial work, advertisement writing, proof reading and 
often the office boy's work. These papers issue no reg- 
ular editions as a rule. The write-up matter and date 
of publication are run on a special insert-form. 

In other words an order for 1,000 copies of one of 
these publications would be made to order in the same 
manner as any other printing job. 

These " fake special-form publishers," as they are 
known by all respectable publications, have been so often 
exposed in daily papers and magazines one would im- 
agine intelligent investors ought to know enough to 
shun them. Their readers do themselves great harm by 
perusing their columns inasmuch as they praise com- 



118 



panies that arc indiscreet enough to submit to blackmar* 
in order to obtain sufficient prestige to secure business. 

Another feature of these papers is the display adver- 
tising. Following is a list of advertisements which ap- 
peared upon the first page of The. Commercial Chronicle, 
dated Chicago, Sept. 17, 1903, which I exposed and 
suppressed. 

First National Bank of Chicago, capital and surplus, 
$8,000,000. 

National City Bank of New York, capital, surplus and 
undivided profits $25,000,000. 

Central Trust Company of Illinois, Chicago, capital 
$4,000,000. Surplus $1,000,000. 

Chicago Title and Trust Company, Chicago, capital 
$5,000,000. 

Merchants' Loan & Trust Co., Chicago, capital and 
surplus $3,700,000- 

Federal Trust & Savings Bank, Chicago, capital $2,- 
000,000. Surplus $500,000. 

Continental National Bank, Chicago, capital $3,000,- 
000. Surplus and profits $1,000,000. 

American Trust and Savings Bank, Chicago, capital 
$2,000,000. 

Spencer Trask & Co., bankers, 27 and 29 Pine St., New 
York. 

Lee, Fligginson & Co., 44 State St., Boston, Foreign 
Exchange. 

I must admit that advertisements of better institutions 
could not be found anywhere, but ONLY TWO OF 
THESE ADVERTISEMENTS WERE AUTHOR- 
IZED. 



119 

I would advise subscribers of so-called financial papers 
to ascertain their character by communicating with Lord 
& Thomas, Chicago, 111. ; Pettingill & Co., New York 
City ; or J. Walter Thompson, New York City. These 
three firms are the largest advertising agencies in the 
world. 

There could be no more effective means of rendering 
these publications harmless than to have them describe 
their own methods for obtaining what they term "ideal 
information." Their supposed knowledge concerning 
schemes subject to inquiry is derived solely from those 
who operate them. Their " reports " are inevitably ful- 
some praise of the stability and financial resources of 
concerns that are supposed to have been investigated. 
For the publication of eulogiums of palpable frauds 
the editors are paid " full advertising rates." Upon the 
recommendations of these irresponsible sheets devoted 
to the cause of fraud countless innocent persons part 
with their savings. 

EDITOR OF GET-RICH-QUICK PAPER MAKES 
A FRANK CONFESSION. 



Lured Investors to Ruin. 



Declares He Was the Tool of Unprincipled Swindlers. 



New York, Sept. 21, 1904. In what purports to be the 
September number of the United States Investor's Guard- 
ian, a paper published for circulation among the con- 



120 A YEAR WITH THE GRAFTERS 

stituents of " get-rich-quick " concerns, appears this 
statement, under the caption " An Open Confession." 

" After having held my position for three months, 
and causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of dol- 
lars I am about to retire as editor of this paper. I can- 
not do so, however, without making a full and open 
confession. 

" I have been in charge of this publication during the 
period named in the interest of one of the most desper- 
ate gangs of swindlers and thieves that ever infested 
any country. My conscience will not allow me to longer 
carry on this deception. 

EDITORIALS ALL LIES. 

"I -wish before leaving to say in this, my last issue, 
that outside of this statement no word of truth has 
ever appeared in these columns. Upright and honest 
business men, as well as straightforward prosperous cor- 
porations have been maliciously attacked with the sole 
idea that money might be diverted from them into the 
coffers of the gang that has. given me employment. 
Through their hoggishness they have denied the right 
of honest concerns to do business fearing that such 
houses might prevent them from stealing a few dis- 
honest dollars. 

' k Those who have had correspondence with me know 
the few concerns I have recommended (and I wish now 
to confess that they are all frauds), and those who have 
read the Guardian know whom that paper has con- 
demned. 

MANY HAVE BEEN RUINED. 

" Some of those who have been attacked have been 
ruined and thereby many thousands of- dollars have 
been lost by small investors. I feel directly responsi- 
ble for this loss. When I think of the wreck and ruin I 



121 



have wrought in order that I might earn a few dollars 
my heart is heavy. 

" The attacks which have appeared have been abso- 
lutely without foundation. In fact, in most cases the 
articles have been a pack of lies from start to finish. 
No method I could pursue can ever undo the damage I 
have done in these various instances. 

" In conclusion I beg to say the Guardian never has 
been represented in Washington except by an office 
boy, and that my work has been conducted in an out of 
the way corner in New York in constant fear of the 
police and the wrath of those I have assailed. 

CONCEIVED IN INIQUITY. 

" The paper was conceived in iniquity and published 
with but one object — to divert money from trusting coun- 
try people into the coffers of concerns recommended 
privately by this paper and controlled by the gang which 
for a few months has kept me in bread and butter. 

" Doubtless these thugs and swindlers will deny all 
this article in a subsequent issue but I have done my 
best to make my peace with those whom I so grossly 
deceived and those whom I so unjustly attacked. 

" The Editor." 

This " confession " came just when the postoffice au- 
thorities were getting ready to round up the publica- 
tion and its backers. The Guardian sprang into exist- 
ence about June I. It was a monthly, of good typo- 
graphical make-up and contained some interesting liter- 
ary matter. The financial pages were two-thirds 
" roast." Houses standing as firm as the rock of Gib- 
raltar were assailed as swindlers. Others, just as sound, 
were declared to be tottering to their fall. 

Two interesting pages were given up to a list of 



122 



brokers and banking houses with the heading " Com- 
municate with us before investing with these firms." In 
this list were a few houses known to be shaky and 
many others of recognized standing. Every now and 
then throughout the publication there was a " snapper " 
in the shape of a little paragraph like this, lauding some 
" Get-Rich-Quick " scheme : 

" We have investigated the standing of Doe & Roe and 
find them perfectly sound." 

The editor is unknown. The postoflice authorities nev- 
er have been able to locate him. 

The big corporation has its blackmailing stockholder 
who opposes by court proceedings nearly every impor- 
tant move of the company in order to force the company 
to buy him off for the sake of harmony and economy. 
The launching of every important new financial enter- 
prise is attended by a gathering of harpies, blackmailing 
financial writers, financial guides and shyster lawyers. 

Public service corporations are to a great extent at the 
mercy of fake damage suit prosecutions and grafting pub- 
lic officials, who, under the pretence of serving the in- 
terests of constituents, are really running a hold-up game 
and enforcing the payment of bribes. The true char- 
acter of these parasites is being shown up almost daily 
and it is to be hoped that a wave of indignation will sweep 
over the country and wash before it all the blackmailing 
scum from every branch of industry. 

If the Postal Authorities do their duty and act in ac- 
cordance with, the best sentiment of American journal- 
ism, they will either gag or jail the frauds who " write 



FAKE GUARANTEE COMPANY 123 

up " their fellow-crooks, and resell their garbage second- 
hand as a guide to the gullible. No sensible investor 
would deal with a concern weak enough to lean upon 
these " reprint and special-form " publications. 

THE GUARANTEE CO. 

The Gurantee Company system is -a new phase of 
"Promotion" that has come to the surface during the 
past two years, but which, through police and legal in- 
vestigation, has about reached its limit. 

A strictly legitimate guarantee company is modeled 
much after the Fidelity and Insurance Bond corporations^ 
They issue secured bonds for all necessary business pur- 
poses, and are reputable and responsible. About 1903 a 
Promotion gang in Chicago stole the name "Guarantee" 
and half a dozen fake guarantee companies were started. 

In 1904 I arrested several of the Dearborn Street gang, 
and put the companies on record. Early in 1905 I caused 
the arrest of a fugitive from justice who was wanted by 
the St. Louis authorities. This broke up one of the 
guarantee companies. The two most dangerous ones, 
however, were still doing business on Dearborn street, 
circularizing the entire country for "investors," adver- 
tising in daily and financial journals, and doing a land- 
office business. 

In 1904 one of these companies — according to their 
books — received $38,500 in "fees." Upon investigation 
of the Eastern companies, which they claimed issued 
bonds for them, it was found that in eighteen months 



124 



TH2 MAN U? A TRZ^ 



R WW -/& 




THE HELPFUL GRAFTER. The grafter will always furnish 
a ladder for the victim to climb the tree. He makes it easy 
for him to get into the "good things;" and then smilingly takes 
the ladder down and walks away, leaving the victim hanging in 
despair with the worthless fruit of his purchase in his hands. 



125 



the Western concerns had procured exactly one $500 
bond. 

Their Trustee reported to Bradstreet's that in one 
week he had deposited security at one local bank for 
something like $12,000 bonds. The officials of this bank, 
when. interviewed, declared, on the contrary, the guaran- 
tee company had not deposited one cent 

In order to understand how these companies operate 
the actual experience of one victim will serve to explain 
the whole system. 

A country manufacturer, rated at $50,000, read an 
advertisement in a financial journal about as follows : 

"Capital Supplied : — We have the means of furnishing 
any amount of capital for any meritorious industrial 
proposition. Address Lock Box XX, Chicago." 

The manufacturer wrote he wanted to raise $100,000 
to increase his business, and offered to put in all his 
effects, stock and good will. He received a letter asking 
him to come* to Chicago and visit the firm, which for 
convenience shall be described, as "Cold Cash & Co." 
He did so. Cash received him in an elegant office with 
open arms. The manufacturer there restated his necessi- 
ties. The affable broker informed him his proposition 
was a fine one and said he could have the desired $100,000 
within thirty days. 

What would be the broker's fee? he inquired. Only 
5 per cent when $100,000 was in the hands of the manu- 
facturer. Certainly an alluring prospect. But how was 
the money to be raised? The manufacturer was t^ in- 



126 

corporate his business for $200,000 and the broker would 
sell half of its capital stock at par. 

As the delighted " sucker " was about to leave the 
broker's office, the latter, in the most off-hand manner 
said : " Oh, by the way, Mr. Manufacturer, what ar- 
rangements have you made to guarantee your capital 
stock?" "Guarantee it? I don't understand you," re- 
plied the victim. 

" Bless you ! " said the broker, " modern methods de- 
mand that all stock be guaranteed — quite the new order 
of things. We couldn't sell a share of stock nowadays 
unless it was guaranteed." 

" Explain ! " 

" I will. You go to some guarantee company and have 
them agree to guarantee the payment of the principal of 
each share of stock sold at thirty years. Don't you see 
that makes your stock as solid as a government bond ? 

" The guarantee company takes a certain portion of 
the proceeds of the stock, invests it for thirty years. 
With interest and compound interest, in 1935 the stock 
has accumulated its par sum. It is a beautiful system." 

" Very plausible, but where are these guarantee com- 
panies ? " 

" Why, there are The National, The States, and The 
Industrial. We hear The States is doing a booming 
business. Go and see them. They are at such a num- 
ber." 

The victim went to the richly furnished suite of offices 
occupied by the guarantee company and met its dignified 
" president " to whom he explained the purpose of his 
visit 



127 



" Very good," said that official. " We will accept your 
risk. We will issue you an option agreeing within one 
year to issue you bonds against your stock as sold, you 
to pay us an advance fee of $1,000." 

The " sucker " demurred. He had only $500 spare 
cash. The president suggested that as the broker would 
make a liberal commission out of the deal he might put 
up the other $500. The manufacturer 'phoned the broker 
who promptly agreed to pay one-half of the fee. The 
broker gave the victim a worthless check for $500 which 
he paid, together with $500 of his own good money into 
the hands of the " guarantee " company. The company 
thereupon issued a certificate, or option for bonds that 
were never called for because the broker never sold any 
of the stock. 

The victim went home loaded down with promises. 
The broker " strung " him along for a month or two but 
sold no stock. Finally the manufacturer realized he was 
buncoed. The broker and the " guarantee " company 
divided the $500, and proceeded to find other suckers. 

During 1905 I was instrumental in forcing several of 
these swindling concerns to return " fees " to victims. 
The guarantee companies are in a measure within the 
law as their contracts are speciously drawn. But ad- 
vertising these companies as fakes has already nearly put 
them out of business. During November evidence was 
secured which proved conspiracy between ". brokers " and 
" guarantee companies/' 



REAL ESTATE AND LOAN FRAUDS. 

Frauds that come to light in the financial field have 
their counterpart in the real estate line. During the past 
year I have been instrumental in unearthing some decid- 
edly new schemes, putting several violators of the law 
behind bars, and breaking up dangerous gangs which 
have preyed on poor and honest people who could ill- 
afford to lose their hard-earned savings. 

The real estate swindler has various methods of opera- 
tion. Usually he is a graduate from the old class of real 
estate and loan brokers whose only offices were under 
their hats. The Licensed Broker Law drove many of 
these impecunious persons out of active business and com- 
pelled them to set their wits at work to fleece the public 
without license. 

A favorite scheme with these chevaliers of industry was 
to pick out some summer resort along the lake, plat into 
lots a thousand-acre patch of sand hills or swamp land, 
get out glowing prospectuses, showing hotels, residences, 
a public library, club-house, bathing beach and lovely 
winding roads, and then offer lots at $10.00 apiece on 
monthly payments. 

Others offered to give a deed for $1.00 to cover no- 
tary's fees. In some instances these land-sharks sold 
whole bunches of worthless lots to captivated investors. 
Early in 1905 the " King Bee " of this hive was arrested, 
fined, held to the Grand Jury, and put out of business. 

A kindred swindle, which has banished from Chicago 
several slick rascals not wanted here, is. that of selling 

128 



129 



worthless mortgages on land. One gang, with headquar- 
ters in Washington street, worked patiently for two years 
to perfect, their scheme. Their principal was an alleged 
" doctor," who, in 1902, went to Indiana and selected sev- 
eral hundred acres of land on the lake shore, one-fifth 
of which was under water. He got a deed, executed a 
bogus mortgage on each piece, recorded these in the 
proper counties, returned to Chicago and opened an of- 
fice as a manufacturer of surgical instruments. He made 
a good showing by means of padded statements and 
" fixed " references. His business seemed so simple and 
his manner so innocent, childlike and bland that he de- 
ceived the banks and commercial agencies. 

In 1904, after working in a quiet, shrewd way to get 
a standing at bank and a $25,000 rating with Bradstreet 
and Dun, his emissaries pushed the " phony " mortgages 
on the market. These were represented to cover farms. 
All the papers were straight and -the interest rates 
showed prompt payments. When the " doctor's " emis- 
saries showed the maker of the notes was a local manu- 
facturer, rated at $25,000, they readily sold the mort- 
gages to unsuspecting investors. The main worker of 
the scheme jumped the city in 1905 with $26,000 in cash. 

Of those making a business of selling the same real 
estate mortgages over and over several times, two bank- 
ers and one loan agent have been sent to the penitentiary. 
These men faithfully and promptly kept up the interest 
payments on their duplicate notes until detected. 

A new wrinkle in the real estate line was sprung about 
a year ago. Some 300 lots were placed, the price set at 



130 



$100.00 each, and four houses were built. When all the 
lots were sold there was to be a lottery, with 296 blanks 
and four prize pasteboards. Each of the latter entitled 
the lot holder to take one of the houses. The scheme was 
worked a month or two and abandoned. 

The next swindle was the Home-Finding Co. This 
fraud bore a harvest so large that its workers were 
quickly driven from St. Louis, and ran up against the 
same fate in Chicago. The scheme was simple : In- 
vest $5.00 a month, and at the end of a year the company 
would build you a home anywhere you wanted it and 
make future payments on it. I devoted sufficient atten- 
tion to this brood to learn their literature and close the::, 
offices. One of this class of workers, in October, when 
arrested in his office, threw himself from a fifth-story 
window in the very shadow of police headquarters and 
was killed. Early in 1905 I concluded a careful investi- 
gation and in conjunction with the government postal 
authorities broke up one of the most notorious " finance " 
schemes in the country. The exposure implicated an ex- 
state treasurer, a prominent railroad auditor, and an ex- 
judge of the Supreme Court, and nearly caused a na- 
tional scandal. 

The sale of rotten securities is another business that has 
flourished in Chicago. It is quite new here, but has been 
a feature in Paris and London for half a century. Head- 
quarters in Chicago for these operations were in the Na- 
tional Life and the Atwood buildings. The swindlers 
had a schedule of prices. For instance, a schemer wished 
to organize an insurance company. It was necessary that 
he make a public statement. The securities grafters 



$100,000,000 A YEAR LOST 131 

would loan him $100,000 in stocks and lands, for a day 
or a month, which he would list and show to the invest- 
ors, the agencies and others interested. If he wished to 
have possession of them for a longer period he would 
pay a fixed monthly rental. Among these bonds were 
" Elevated Stocks," but these were not stocks in the ele- 
vated railroads. In one instance, investigation of some 
" Elevated Bonds " showed they were issued on a five- 
mile stub-end of a road in a remote wilderness in Colo- 
rado, 200 miles from any elevated connection. These 
bonds formed the basis of the capital of a LaSalle street 
bank I raided and closed. This institution was also head- 
quarters for an ■" Indiana Wildcat Surplus Line " fire 
insurance company that is now on the dead list with 184 
other wildcat companies this department has driven out 
of business during the last 18 months. 

$100,000,000 EACH YEAR 
Lost by Investments in Fake Mining Schemes. 

It is estimated that in this country every year nearly 
$100,000,000 are taken out of the savings of people of 
limited means by financial fakers, especially mining and 
oil fakers. During the last five years I have observed 
the "financiering" of several thousand fake companies, 
each of which secured a great deal of money from ignor- 
ant people. 

Bands of swindlers repair to mining camps and estab- 
lish branches there. They expend a few hundred dollars 
for shreds and patches of ground void of present or 
prospective value. 



L&a 



They then form a mining corporation, place its capital 
stock at some enormous figure — a million, two or three 
million dollars — appoint themselves or some of their 
dupes directors and sell the worthless claims to the com- 
pany for a large proportion or perhaps all of the capital 
stock of the company. 

The stock must be disposed of with a rush. It must all 
go within a year or shorter time. When it is gone the 
suckers who get the stock for good money may take the 
property of the company. They always find an empty 
treasury, worthless claims and the rosy pictures that led 
them astray smothered in the fog. 

During the last five years the advertising columns of 
leading newspapers have been full of offers of mining- 
stocks as "sure roads to fortune.'' Nearly all of these 
mining companies, into whose treasuries the public has 
paid millions, have either been abandoned or the prop- 
erties have been sold for debts, and invariably they bring 
very little. The largest percentage of receipts of these 
companies from the sales of stock is stolen by their pro- 
moters. 

Official statistics of the mining industry show that 
out of each one hundred mines, only one has become a 
success from a dividend paying point of view. About 
five earn a bare existence, while the balance turn out utter 
failures. 

Investors w T ill do well to consider that stocks of mines 
which are only prospective are the most risky form of 
gambling. In buying stocks of the undeveloped mines 
offered to the public on the strength of statements the 



133 



only substance of which is the imagination of promoters, 
one runs up against a sure-thing brace-game. 

Don't take the promoter's word for it. 

When you wish to place money where it can work for 
you, don't bite at the first " good thing " you see adver- 
tised. It is to the interest of the man who wants to sell 
you stock to place it before you in the rosiest light. 
Otherwise he knows you would not buy it. If you want 
to buy stock, don't rely upon what the seller says, but 
consult others. 

Before consulting persons whom you think may be able 
to express an honest and intelligent opinion, ask the pro- 
moter to furnish you a statement of the condition of the 
company, showing its assets and liabilities, profits and 
losses, and an accurate description of its property. 

You will then be able to judge whether the company 
is over-capitalized; whether it is incumbered with debts 
(for debts may lead to a receivership), and if *cs earn- 
ings may lead to permanent dividends. 

Also ask for a copy of the by-laws o c the company. 
If, with such information at your disposal, you cannot get 
a correct idea as to whether the stock is desirable or not, 
consult your banker or somebody else in your commun- 
ity who may be able to advise you. 

If some one offered you a mortgage on a certain piece 
of property, common sense would tell you to ascertain 
whether the property is sufficient surety for the loan, or 
if the title to the property is good and there are not prior 
incumbrances on it. 

The man who would buy a mortgage without ascer- 



134 A YEAR WITH THE GRAFTERS 

taining the value and condition of the surety would be 
considered an idiot. 

Why not use the same precaution when buying stock? 
Don't believe what the promoter tells you about the 
value and prospects of the stock he wants to unload on 
you. Don't take it for granted the stock offered you will 
turn out a great money maker and dividend payer be- 
cause the promoter tells you so. 

The promoter, generally a person living in another 
city and entirely unknown to you, has no interest in you, 
but is prompted by his own selfish interest to sell you 
something which, in many cases, he himself would not 
buy. He may offer you a good thing, but it is up to you 
to find it out. 

In most cases, an intelligent investigation will prompt 
you to let alluring offers of great wealth for little money 
severely alone. The observation of the common-sense 
rules outlined above will save investors bitter disappoint- 
ments and heavy losses. 

THE DUTIES OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Inadequacy of the protection afforded the public at 
present. Fraud orders. Swindlers are bold. Punish- 
ment by fine a satire. The inexhaustible corruption fund. 

That crime of so despicable a type as the cowardly rob- 
bery of the poor through the United States mails should 
flourish as do the schemes at present overrunning the 
whole country is a sad commentary on our laws and the 
machinery of the government for their enforcement. A 
close observer will readily discover several reasons why, 
in the face of a federal statute prohibiting the use of 



HOW MUCH LONGER WILL HE SLEEP 



135 




WAKE UP, UNCLE SAM! The Grafters do most of their 
fraudulent work through the United States Post Office. Uncle 
Sam has long been asleep while they robbed the people. There 
is not a Post Office in the land where every mail does not carry 
the Grafter's proposition. 



136 



the mails; to further a scheme, it is less dangerous and 
more profitable to violate this law than it would be to 
commit highway robbery or burglary in violation of a 
state statute. 

Here are a few of the reasons why there are so many 
successful schemes operated at present : 

Inadequacy of the force of postoffice inspectors. 
(About two to each million of population.) 

Inadequacy of punishment, usually a fine ranging 
from $100 to $1,000 with an occasional jail sentence. 

The opportunity to steal a fortune with a minimum 
risk of conviction and punishment is a strong incentive 
to the " faker " to openly ply his vocation. 

It is the duty of the Government when a fraudulent 
scheme is launched to make such an examination into 
the character of its promoters and its methods as would 
justify its being declared fraudulent, and its mail being 
stopped before it gets returns sufficient to repay the pro- 
moters the original outlay for advertising and stationery. 

Radical action by the federal authorities should have 
been taken several years ago, but it is not too late to 
inaugurate a system that will protect those incapable of 
protecting themselves. 

"FRAUD ORDERS." 

It is within the power of the Postmaster General to 
deny the use of the United States mails to firms or in- 
dividuals engaged in a fraudulent business, by issuing 
instructions to the local postmaster prohibiting him or 
his employes from delivering to the fraudulent concerns 
mail addressed to it. Upon the receipt of such an order 



137 



(which is commonly called a "fraud order"), the local 
postmaster returns to the senders all mail matter ad- 
dressed to the concerns against which the order was is- 
sued, with the word "Fraudulent" stamped in large let- 
ters across the face of the envelope or wrapper. This 
is a very effective method of disposing of schemes to 
defraud and quickly drives "fakers" out of business. 

Every well-equipped fraudulent concern acquires as 
rapidly as possible the names and, addresses of suscepti- 
ble persons, and the painstaking revisions of the lists 
made up of these names and addresses form an impor- 
tant part of the labor of the principals or employes. The 
lists grow, as each advertisement brings out inquiries 
from persons, who, either through curiosity or a desire 
to "invest," write for particulars. Affiliated swindles 
and those operated in succession by a gang of "fakers" 
use the same list of "suckers," as they term the pros- 
pective victims. 

In the case of affiliated swindles, if the "sucker" does 
not succumb and remit his money on the inducements 
offered b>y one concern, his name is transferred to the 
list of another one of the schemes operated by the same 
parties and he is then bombarded with different litera- 
ture. Thus a man must pass through the ordeal of hav- 
ing dozens of tempting offers made him before he dem- 
onstrates that he is not a "sucker," or has not got the 
money, when his name is stricken from the list. 

A bill was presented to the State Legislature Feb- 
ruary, 1905, by which the Fly-By-Night corporations or 
business organizations, with nothing more than a tent 



138 



as an excuse for existence would have been put out of 
business if the legislature had passed the act. 

It read : 

All tontine investment, installment, home purchasing, 
bond or certificate selling companies offering future re- 
turns to the investor must file lists of their officers and 
directors, who are to be examined under oath and must 
deposit with the state auditor $50,000 in good securities 
before they are licensed to begin business in the state. 
Officers of foreign companies also must submit to exam- 
ination under oath before they operate in the state. 

The auditor is given authority to examine the books 
of a firm or corporation at any time he may see fit, and 
should he find the liabilities exceed the assets, exclusive 
of the $50,000 deposit, he may declare the company in- 
solvent and on application to the Circuit Court have a re- 
ceiver appointed to close up the business of the concern. 

This bill applies to all concerns that issue or sell con- 
tracts, bonds, debentures or certificates providing for a 
single payment by the investor who is to receive in return 
at some future time a whole or a part of the sum paid 
in. It provides that each concern shall file with the audi- 
tor a statement showing whether business is to be trans- 
acted by an individual, a firm or co-partnership, an as- 
sociation or a corporation, giving the names and resi- 
dences of all persons interested therein and the name un- 
der which the business is to be transacted. 

If the applicant be a corporation a certified copy of the 
articles of incorporation together with the names and ad- 
dresses of all officers and directors, the amount of the 
capital stock and the amount paid in shall be filed. 



MISCELLANEOUS FAKE SCHEMES. 

Jan. 7th, Idaho Colony Co., 225 Dearborn St., a fraud- 
ulent land scheme operated by Albert Hunter and Charles 
E. Smith. Raided and suppressed; literature seized and 
turned over to the United States Inspector of Mails for 
investigation and action. Two hundred victims de- 
frauded. 

Jan. 17th, Roberts' Fake Medicine Scheme, 259 Mich- 
igan Ave., raided and suppressed. James Roberts ar- 
rested and fined $100 by Justice John K. Prindeville. 

Jan. 26th, Isaac Steinberg's fake mail order and jew- 
elry house, 302 Dearborn St., closed, literature seized and 
turned over to the Postal Authorities, who arrested the 
promoters. 

March 2d, M. L. Welshley's fake agency for the em- 
ployment of stage struck girls and boys, room 317 Mec- 
ca Building, Thirty-third and State Sts., raided and 
closed. Welshley arrested and fined $5 by Justice George 
Underwood. 

March 13th, Jennie Nichols, fraudulent spiritualist, 184 
Seober St., arrested and seances suppressed. 

March 29, Rex Publishing Co. 

Gem Art Co. 

Select Toilet Co. 

Standard Press Syndicate. 

Woman's Specialty Co. 

United States Advertising Co. 

139 



140 



Home Employment Co. 

Offices at 56 Wabash Ave., raided and closed, litera- 
ture seized and turned over to Postal Authorities for 
investigation and action. 

April nth, John Clifford, anonymous letter writer, 32 
Ogden Ave., arrested and evidence turned over to the 
Postal Authorities for investigation and action. 

April nth, The Mutual Security Co. 

Mutual Accumulation Society, operated by Louis Brady 
and Richard Ransom, who were arrested, indicted and 
are awaiting trial. Offices closed ; business suppressed. 

April 12th, Chicago Buyer and Sale Co., a fraudulent 
concern for selling stock to farmers. Operated by F. 
H. Wilcox, M. G. Rudloff, and Miss L. M. Wilcox, 3845 
State St., and 904 East Forty-seventh St., exposed and 
suppressed. 

May 10th, Keystone Commission Co., 95 Dearborn 
St. 

International Mercantile Co., 95 Dearborn St., fraud- 
ulent diamond company, operated by William T. McKee 
and John Campbell, who were arrested, indicted and are 
awaiting trial. Place raided and closed. 

June 3d, Crescent Fuel Co., 374 West Monroe St. 

Consolidated Wood Co., 332 Washington Boulevard. 

Consolidated Wood Co., 1048 West Van Buren, fraud- 
ulent concerns, who "circularized" the northwest with 
their literature, bought several hundred carloads of wood 
from farmers, sold the same and pocketed the proceeds. 
Operated by James A. Tabor, with headquarters at 1048 
West Van Buren St. Place raided- methods ex- 
posed and swindle suppressed. 



141 

June 5th, Bismarck Brewing Co., 79 Dearborn St. 

The U. S. Standard Oil Co., 79 Dearborn St., room 
1 144, Unity Building. The above concerns operated by 
H. B. Robinson were exposed and closed. 

June 6th, American Financial Industrial Co., 125 La 
Salle St. 

International Investment Co., 125 La Salle St., "pro- 
moters, guarantors, underwriters and stock brokers." 
Operated by W. J. Hogue, "President;" W. A. Bo- 
water, "Vice-president;" J. A. Lucas, "Secretary," and 
G. S. Howe, "Treasurer." Raided and closed. 

July 1 8th, Chicago Adirondack Gold Mining Co., 1439 
Marquette Bldg., raided and closed. 

Aug. 5th, S. E. Smith, Turf Speculator, 155-157 Wash- 
ington St., offices raided and closed. 

Aug. 10th, Investors Financial Agency, a fraudulent 
concern operated from the Masonic Temple by Albert H. 
Propper, attorney, and P. J. Cummings, manager. Closed 
and evidence procured turned over to the Postal Authori- 
ties who issued a fraud order depriving the scheme of 
use of the mails. 

Sept. 29th, Equitable Finance Co., 92 La Salle St. 

Equitable Real Estate and Loan Society, 92 La Salle 
St., fraudulent concerns which operated among farmers. 
Adolph Perbohner was arrested for obtaining money by 
the confidence game, and was held in bonds of $500 to the 
Grand Jury by Justice John K. Prindeville. 

Perbohner came to Chicago in 1892, and worked as 
an insurance solicitor. His wife was engaged as a for- 
tune teller and clairvoyant. His company was incorpor- 
ated in Dakota, Dec. 20, 1902, with a capital stock of 



142 



$25,000. Perbohner was "president, "secretary" and 
"manager;" in fact, he owned the entire concern. It 
,sold contracts and claimed to make loans to contract hold- 
ers for the purpose of assisting them in the purchase of 
homes. 

Contracts were said to be issued in consecutive num- 
bers and the borrower had to continue payments until the 
number of his contract was reached before he was en- 
titled to a loan. The company was arranged so it would 
go out of business before the contract matured. Per- 
bohner victimized one hundred and fifty people at Joliet, 
111. Warrants were procured by several of the victims. 

Oct. 27th, Perbohner was arrested in a saloon at 155 
Washington St., by Sergeants John H. Tobin and John 
Duffy. Upon being taken to his room to secure some 
papers, the prisoner ran to the window and bursting 
through the glass, committed suicide by diving headlong 
from the fourth story to the street. He was instantly 
killed. 

Sept. 5th, Guarantee Employment Bureau, Room 616, 
167 Dearborn St. ; operated by R. Lyons ; two hundred 
persons swindled. Raided and closed. Lyons evaded ar- 
rest, and is a fugitive from justice. 

Aug. 2, Guaranty Bond & Trust Co., 125 Dearborn 
St. Closed. 

Oct. 6th, Honduras National Lottery, 282 E. Division 
St., raided and closed. Carl Jeppson arrested and fined 
$5° by Justice John R. Caverly. 



143 



TURF INVESTORS. 

Aug. 5th, Wilson and Richman, 225 Dearborn St., 
raided and closed. Literature seized and destroyed. 

Nov. The Ellsworth Co., horse owners, book makers 
and Turf Investments specialists, Ellsworth Building, 353- 
357 Dearborn St. Raided and closed. 

Nov. 2d, Thomas Collyer was arrested at A. H. Rosen- 
stiel's saloon, 173 Milwaukee Ave., for violating the In- 
terstate Commerce Laws. Collyer manufactured, sold and 
distributed obscene pictures for use in Penny slot-ma- 
chines and arcades through the United States and for- 
eign countries. 

Collyer did business under the names The Chicago 
Novelty Supply House, 173 Milwaukee Ave., and the 
Acme Publishing Company, 162 North Union St. He 
selected for his models prostitutes, fallen women, and de- 
praved men. They were taken to an abandoned photo- 
graph gallery on the top floor in the rear of 95 East Chi- 
cago avenue where the negative pictures were made. 
Collyer then took them to his home, 549 Austin avenue 
where the pictures were developed, printed, mounted and 
put in packages for shipment. 

I found and seized 120,000 obscene pictures and plates. 
These are now held as evidence. The Postal Authorities 
sought this plant for six months. It was the largest 
and most complete plant of the kind in the United States. 

Nov. 24, Collyer was arraigned before United States 
Commissioner Mark L. Foote and held to the Federal 
Grand Jury in bonds of $300. 

Nov, 25, L. D. Abbott & Company, manufacturers of 



144 



skirts and corsets at 331 and 333 Wabash avenue; offices 
raided and closed. E. C. Hughes, a former preacher at 
St. Louis, Mo., and A. M. Reed, co-partners of L. D. 
Abbott, of East St. Louis, 111., were arraigned for con- 
spiracy to defraud by the confidence game, before Justice 
John Richardson. 

The fraud consisted of obtaining money deposits of 
from $25 to $2,000 apiece from traveling salesmen who 
were required to appoint sub-agents to sell unsalable 
goods. Upon failure of the agents to appoint the re- 
quired number of sub-agents the deposits were declared 
forfeited to the firm. Fully 500 persons were swindled 
by this dishonest scheme. Their losses are estimated at 
$200,000. They are indicted and awaiting trial. 

Nov. 15, James E. Burk & Co., suite 1100, No. 184 
La Salle street, promoters, bond sharks, fake underwrit- 
ing company ; agents for E. C. Talmadge and M. J. Car- 
penter, 52 Dearborn street; offices raided and closed. 

Dec. 2, National Underwriting and Bond Company, 
home office, San Francisco, Cal. ; 

National Underwriting and Trust Company, San 
Francisco, Cal. ; 

Pacific Underwriting and Trust Company, San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. ; 

Imperial Trustee Company, Jersey City, N. J. ; 

Chicago National Bond Co., suite 401-421, 52 Dear- 
born street, operated by E. C. Talmadge, M. J. Carpenter, 
and George D. Talmadge; 

International Trust Company, Philadelphia, Pa., raided 
and E. C. Talmadge and M. J. Carpenter arrested for con- 
spiracy to defraud. Case pending hearing. 



145 



Dec. 8, W. H. Todd & Co., suite 803, 112 Dearborn 
street, promoter, fake stock jobber, underwriter and 
shark; raided and closed. W. H. Todd was arrested for 
conspiracy to defraud. Case pending hearing. 

Dec. 11, the Central States Underwriting and Guar- 
antee Corporation, room 1306 Tribune building, was 
raided and W. M. Hulburt, H. B. Hudson, M. J. Roug- 
han, Francis O wings, were arrested for conspiracy to 
defraud by means of the confidence game. Case pending 
hearing. 

Dec. 8, offices of J. H. Bell, proprietor of a fraudulent 
show card college, 21 Quincy street, raided and closed, 
upon complaints of many women who were victimize,d 
out of small amounts ranging from $1.00 to $10.00. Bell 
promised his students positions and work after they fin- 
ished the required course. 

Bell refused to keep his, promises. He was arrested, 
charged with practicing a confidence game, and held to 
the grand ju j on five charges in bonds of $1,500, by 
Justice John K. Prindeville. 



REPORT OF A YEAR'S WORK AMONG 
CHICAGO GRAFTERS. 

Chicago, January i v 1907. 
John M. Collins, 

General Superintendent of Police, 
Chicago, III. 

Sir : — I submit herewith my annual report of the 
work performed by me during the year 1906. 

During the past twelve months there have been re- 
ferred to me 600 letters and complaints for investigation 
and action, the subject-matter of which has received the 
most careful attention. Action upon these communica- 
tions has resulted in the exposure and suppression of 
innumerable fraudulent concerns. 

I had charge of the suppression of gambling at parks 
and other places of amusement; the inspection and su- 
pervision of picture exhibitions in penny arcades and 
museums, and the inspection and supervision of illus- 
trated postal cards sold throughout the city, for the 
purpose of preventing the exhibition, sale and circulation 
of vulgar and obscene pictures ; the work of gathering 
evidence against and the suppression of dealers in "sure- 
thing" gambling devices, viz., loaded dice, marked cards, 
roulette wheels, spindle faro layouts, card holdouts, 
nickle slot machines and many other devices. 

Five leading manufacturers of the above described 
devices in Chicago were arrested and indicted and now 

146 



147 

await trial. Paraphernalia valued at $12,000, seized by 
me, is held as evidence. 

I have investigated and made reports concerning the 
following questionable businesses : 

Brokers, Wildcat Insurance, Fake Mines and Oil 
Wells, Turf Swindles, Home Buying Swindles, Fake 
Bond and Investment Companies, Bucket Shops, Blind 
Pools in Grains and Stocks, Pool Rooms, Hand Books, 
Fake Mail Order Houses, Ordinary Gambling Con- 
cerns, Matrimonial Bureaus, Fake Book Concerns, Fake 
Underwriting, Fake Banks, Collecting Agencies, Fake 
Medicine Companies, Clairvoyants, Fortune Tellers, 
Palmists, Bogus Charities, Wire Tappers, Fraudulent 
Employment Agencies, Fake Doctors, Air Line Rail- 
roads and Land Swindlers. 

When inquiries, complaints or charges filed with the 
Police Department of Chicago against concerns in this 
city are referred to me I make as thorough an investiga- 
tion as possible. I have adopted and used the following 
form of interrogation : 

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, 
City of Chicago. 
Chicago, , 190.. 

statement. * • 
i. Former place of residence and line of business in 
which you were engaged. 

2. If your business requires a city license, give num- 
ber and date of license. 

3. If your business requires registration with the 
Secretary of State and Recorder of this county, give 
date of such record. 



148 

4. How long established in Chicago; number and 
location of branch offices. 
-5. Bank or commercial references. 

6. Nature of business. 

Under this heading a full statement in writing on 
your letterhead and attached hereto will be appreciated. 

7. If a corporation, please give us the following in- 
formation : 

Corporate style. 

Business. 

Date of charter. 

Incorporated under the laws of what State? 

President. 

Vice-president. 

Secretary. 

Treasurer. 

Authorized capital stock. 

Amount of stock. 

Value and nature of assets and amount of liabilities. 

8. If a partnership, give the names and places of 
residence of the several members composing the firm. 

9. The above information, as contained in the an- 
swers made by us, is furnished by , 

whose signature appears below, and who certifies that 
the statements so made by him are correct and true to 
the best of his knowledge and belief. 

Signed 

For and representing the above named firm or corpora- 
tion. 

LETTER ACCOMPANYING INTERROGATORIES. 

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, 

City of Chicago. 

Chicago, , 1906. 

Mr 

The Police Department is in receipt of inquiries in 



149 

regard to the reliability and business methods of your 
concern. 

In order that such inquiries may be intelligently an- 
swered, you are respectfully requested to forward to 
this office, at your earliest convenience, full answers to 
the interrogatories attached. 
Respectfully, 

Honorable men conducting legitimate business do not 
object to answering these interrogatories. An almost 
certain indication of dishonesty lies in a refusal to an- 
swer them. Representatives of Fly-by-Night, Get-Rich- 
Quick Concerns and other swindles evade the questions 
or use subterfuge to prevent me from securing the in- 
formation desired. Others positively refuse to be in- 
terrogated. In such cases I have hitherto successfully 
appealed to Colonel James E. Stuart, Postoffice Inspector 
in charge of the Chicago Postoffice. Investigation 
through cooperation of the Police Department and Fed- 
eral Government has quickly ensued. Almost invaria- 
bly "the suspect's" mail has been cut off and his busi- 
ness thus destroyed. 

Whenever an individual or concern could not show a 
"clean bill of health" I have forced them to disinfect or 
submit to the quarantine of the county jail or the peni- 
tentiary. 

My experience has convinced me there should be some 
means of effectually preventing or exterminating pirates 
upon the high seas of finance. Nothing suggests itself 
more forcibly as a remedy than a plan for the registra- 
tion of all citizens. Such registration would enable the 
police of every city, town and village to keep fully in- 
formed as to the character of every person in it. More- 



150 

over, such registration would give a correct census of 
each municipality. It would be a great crime-reducer„ 

Not only would the registration render it easy for 
the police to keep track of known criminals, but it 
would enable them to follow the movements of sus- 
pected individuals. Every one would know his "rec- 
ord" was in the police archives, and this consciousness 
of constant surveillance at all times would make every 
man more careful in his business relations. A complete 
system of police registration could be adopted without 
difficulty. 

Much of the information required is already 
in possession of the captains of political precincts and 
primary districts. These local politicians know the name 
and politics, nature of employment and many other facts 
about every voter in their respective districts. Command- 
ing officers in the Police Departments and patrolmen are 
capable of accomplishing as much through their organ- 
ization. 

Increase the police force, give employment to more 
men, reduce the territory of each patrolman until they 
all know the pedigree of every one in their district, and 
you will reduce crime to a minimum. Nothing save false 
egotism, ignorance and "pigheadedness" will cause law- 
abiding citizens to object to such registration. The 
federal census enumerator asks personal questions of the 
most intimate character. Persons of proper antecedents 
do not object to the injuiry. The wishes of others need 
not be considered. 

The information might be kept as a secret record, not 
to be made public except when misbehavior on the part 



151 

of the citizen has forfeited his right to secrecy. Such 
registration would be invaluable in cases of deserting 
husbands, runaway children, fugitives from justice and 
women of police character It ought to render impos- 
sible peaceable existence outside of prison walls to con- 
fidence men, gamblers, professional criminals and chronic 
offenders. 

A law should be adopted to compel compliance with 
certain state regulations by all corporations and compa- 
nies of questionable character. Such a bill was intro- 
duced at the last legislature, but it was pigeonholed. At 
whose instance this was done is not generally known, 
but certainly not in the interest of honest business prin- 
ciples. 

Under this bill all tontine investment, installment, 
home purchasing, bond or certificate selling companies 
offering future returns to the investor must file lists of 
their officers and directors, who are to be examined 
under oath and must deposit with the state auditor $50,- 
000 in good securities before they are licensed to begin 
business in the State. Officers of foreign countries also 
must submit to examination under oath before they op- 
erate in the State. 

The auditor is given authority to examine the books 
of a firm or corporation at any time he may see fit, and 
should he find the liabilities exceed the assets, exclu- 
sive of the $50,000 deposit, he may declare the company 
insolvent and on application to the Circuit Court have 
a receiver appointed to close up the business of the con- 
cern. 

This bill applies to all concerns that issue or sell con- 



152 

tracts, bonds, debentures or certificates providing for a 
single payment by the investor who is to receive in re- 
turn, at some future time, a whole or part of the sum 
paid in. It provides that each concern shall file with the 
auditor a statement showing whether business is to be 
transacted by an individual, a firm or copartnership, 
an association or a corporation, giving the names and 
residences of all persons interested therein and the 
name under which the business is to be transacted. 

If the applicant be a corporation a certified copy of the 
articles of incorporation, together with the names and 
addresses of all officers and directors, the amount of the 
capital stock and the amount paid in, shall be filed. 

It is safe to say seventy-five per cent of the so-called 
"Mining, Plantation and Air Line" schemes and "Se- 
curity" companies now paraded before the public in 
flaring advertisements in the daily papers, and through 
glittering prospectuses sent through the mails, are 
vicious swindles. Men who operate these frauds pre- 
tend to be honest and high minded. By constant prac- 
tice of their wiles upon others they develop self-deception 
and come to believe in their honesty to such an extent 
that, when questioned, they assume a good counterfeit 
of honest indignation. Most of them do not own the 
furniture in the offices they occupy while swindling the 
public. It is common practice for them to rent offices 
in national bank buildings and to furnish them with rich 
furniture bought on the instalment plan, to make the 
necessary "front." They spend their cash capital for 
flaring advertisements, sell as much stock as they can 
induce the gullible public to buy, and then decamp, leav- 



153 

ing unpaid bills for advertising- if they can get credit 
after their cash is exhausted, and their furniture bill 
unpaid. The absconding swindler is usually succeeded 
by an "agent" or "manager," who repudiates the bills 
against his rascally predecessor and continues the work 
of fleecing the gullible under some new title or by means 
of some new trick. 

Every well-equipped fraudulent concern acquires the 
names and addresses of susceptible persons. Painstak- 
ing revisions of the lists made up of these names and 
addresses form an important part of the labor of the 
principals or employes. The lists grow as each adver- 
tisement brings inquiries from persons who, either 
through curiosity or desire to "invest," write for par- 
ticulars. Affiliated swindles operated in succession by 
a gang of "fakirs" use the same list of "suckers." 

In affiliated swindles if the "sucker" does not suc- 
cumb and remit his money on the inducements offered 
by one concern, his name is transferred to the lists of 
another and he is then bombarded with different litera- 
ture. Thus a man must pass through the ordeal of hav- 
ing dozens of tempting offers made him before he demon- 
strates that he is not a "sucker," or has not got the 
money. His name is then stricken from the list. 

There are so many "Get-Rich-Quick" operators at* 
present that competition between them has become fierce. 
They are now infesting the entire country with local 
solicitors, who frequent saloons, hotels, and even resi- 
dence districts, where victims are found in foreigners, 
ignorant servant girls and inexperienced widows. 

These solicitors get fifty per cent commission on all 



154 

sales of stock. This fact in itself is evidence that the 
propositions are rank swindles. When the swindling op- 
erator finds things getting too hot he disappears from his 
office and bobs up in some new place with a new propo- 
sition. 

I SUBMIT HEREWITH A PARTIAL LIST OF OP- 
ERATORS WHOSE ENTERPRISES WERE AFFECTED BY 
ACTION BY MY DEPARTMENT. 

February i. The Cripples' Employment Company, 
Ceyton building, Nineteenth street and Wabash avenue, 
a cheap mail order jewelry scheme operated by B. F. 
Hirsch. Suppressed. 

February 3. Inter-State Publishing and Premium 
Company, Chicago Opera House block, 112 South Clark 
street. The working class and poor persons of Chicago 
were victimized in hundreds by smooth and unscrupu- 
lous agents, who offered to sell them a subscription to a 
home magazine for 10 cents a week. With -each copy 
they would get a stamp. When sixty-eight of these 
stamps were accumulated they were to be entitled to a 
premium, ranging from a Bible to a set of parlor furni- 
ture. After they paid for a few copies of the magazine 
the agents' visits ceased. 

At the expiration of two years the victims received 
notice from constables to the effect that they owed from 
$35 to $40 to the publishers. The claims were made 
on the trick contracts they signed as agreements to pay 
10 cents a week for the magazine. The contracts were 
worded so that the women agreed to pay for a long 
list of publications and articles enumerated on the back 
of the contract. 



155 

Suits were started at the rate of a hundred a day on 
contracts signed in 1904. None of the women sum- 
moned were aware they had signed such a contract. 
Most of the suits were for the payment of $36. 

At the time my investigation began, thousands of suits 
had been started before Justice Keefer of Evanston, and 
the poor scrubwomen had to journey out there. When 
interviewed by the authorities Mr. Danforth, the pro- 
moter, boasted of his church connections and declared 
his past morality was proof against his operating a vile 
scheme. He was shown the facts and agreed to drop 
the suits. 

Other suits were then started before Justice Lee, 
Thirty-ninth street and Cottage Grove avenue. The 
company moved into Lee's neighborhood and began a 
land office business in the collections. They were stopped 
when Mr. Lee was notified of the character of the suits. 
The concern next appeared in the Tacoma building, 
Madison and La Salle streets, as the National Investment 
and Security Company. I again closed their offices. The 
concern's last appearance was at 117 La Salle street, re- 
organized with Constable C. I. Essing at its head, and 
its old contracts as its only assets. It was again sup- 
pressed. 

February 10. The Chicago Mercantile and Report- 
ing Agency, 171 Washington street, operated by Philip 
Bulfer, Patrick L. Toughy, L. E. Burnett and C. J. 
Dubach, who were arrested for conspiracy to obtain 
signatures by fraud and obtain money by means of a 
confidence game. All these men were indicted by the 
grand jury. Their mode of operation was to solicit 



156 ; 

collections of old debts and require the creditor to sign a 
document purporting to be a statement showing the 
agency had been employed on a certain day.. The in- 
strument was really a judgment note, it is said, in which 
it was stipulated the signer was indebted to the bearer 
for a certain sum. It delegated power of attorney to the 
holder to appear in anv court and obtain judgment on 
the note. The agency was compelled to abandon its 
scheme. 

February 22. W. B. Willowitch was arrested at 2330 
Michigan avenue for conducting a fraudulent detective 
agency and impersonating a United States Secret Serv- 
ice Officer. He also was charged with manufacturing and 
selling United States Secret Service stars. On Febru- 
ary 27 Willowitch was fined $100 by Justice John K. 
Prindiville and turned over to the United States Secret 
Service Officers. 

March 1. Samuel Pickett, room 11 15 Woman's 
Temple building, 184 La Salle street, was arrested and 
his offices closed as a fraudulent theatrical agency. 

March 2. C. P. Lane, Marriage Bureau, room 407, 
Twenty-sixth and Calumet avenue. Raided and closed. 

March 3. The Northwestern Guaranty Company, 30 
La Salle street. Closed. 

March 17. Ezra S. Barnum, room 1121, 103 Randolph 
street, and E. C. Talmadge, 52 Dearborn street, were 
arrested for securing $^00 from Peter A. Brandt, of 
Marshall, Michigan, through a confidence game. Both 
were indicted, together with George Talmadge, the lat- 
ter being in Kansas City, Missouri, and whom I brought 
back and turned over to the Sheriff of Cook County. 



157 

November 27, E. C. Talmadge and George Talmadge 
were found guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary. 
Barnum was discharged. 

March 14. Emily B. Hollis, Marriage Bureau, 2451 
Michigan avenue. Raided and closed. While the raid 
was being made Emily arrived in a cab. Seeing the 
officer at her door, she ordered the cabman not to stop, 
but to drive post haste to a train, on which she made 
her escape. Twelve different men whom she had agreed 
to marry had each advanced her liberal sums of money 
to buy her wedding clothes. They now mourn their 
loss. 

April 7. The Illinois Supply House, F. G. Allen, 
room 24, 122 La Salle street, was raided and closed. 
Allen evaded arrest bv flight. The scheme of Allen and 
his assistants was to scan newspapers for notices of 
deaths in all parts of the United States and to send 25- 
cent spectacles C. O. D. to the dead persons by express. 
The collections demanded in each case were $3.50. With 
each parcel a letter was sent, stating the deceased had 
ordered the glasses before death and paid all but the 
amount claimed. 

April 10. John Abram, broker, 1832 Indiana avenue. 
Raided and closed. Abram claimed to have a method for 
making ten per cent on all investments in the wheat mar- 
ket. It attracted scores of women, who were easily im- 
pressed by his suavity and amiability. No part of the 
supposed profits was returned. When asked to explain, 
Abram claimed the market went against him and the 
monev was lost. 



158 

The many schemes, worked by the various grafters, 
described in detail would fill a large volume. The general 
descriptions and the few instances given must suffice the 
reader so far as details are concerned. For the most part 
I can only mention the name, the business, and the time 
of arrest, trial and disposition of the case. Only where, 
I believe the circumstances would prove of interest 
or benefit to the reader do I go into particulars. Nor do 
I mention any case that is not positively settled and ac- 
curate as to the facts stated. Many have been omitted 
who are guilty, but absolute proof is wanting. 

May 12. E. A. Wirsching, bucketshop, 196 La Salle 
street; arrested, held to the grand jury; indicted; now 
awaiting trial. 

May 19. H. C. Evins, 125 South Clark street; George 
De Shone, 462 North Clark street; Barr & Co., E. Man- 
ning Stockton, 56 Fifth avenue, -offices raided and sure- 
thing gambling devices valued at $5,000 seized and de- 
stroyed.. H. C. Evins was arrested and fined $200; 
George De Shone was arrested and fined $100, and E. 
Manning Stockton arrested and fined $25. 

Disclosures of conditions which so seriously threatened 
the discipline of the United States army and navy that the 
secretaries of the two departments, and even President 
Roosevelt himself, were called upon to aid in their sup- 
pression, were made in Harrison street police court today, 
when dealers in and manufacturers of alleged crooked 
gambling devices were arraigned. 

Tt was charged that a coterie of Chicago men engaged 
in making and selling- these devices had formed a "trust" 
and had for years robbed, swindled, and corrupted the 



159 

enlisted men of the army and navy through loaded dice, 
"holdouts," magnetized roulette wheels, and other crooked 
gambling apparatus. 

The "crooked" gambling "trust" in Chicago spread 
over the civilized world, had its clutches on nearly every 
United States battleship, army post, and military prison ; 
caused wholesale desertions, and in general corrupted 
the entire defensive institution of the nation. 

TRY TO CORRUPT SCHOOL BOYS. 

Besides the corruption of the army, these companies 
are said to have aimed a blow at the foundation of the na- 
tion, by offering through a mail order plan, for six cents, 
loaded dice to school boys, provided they sent the names 
of likely gamblers among their playmates. 

This plan had not reached its full growth when nipped. 
But the disruption of the army and navy had been under 
way for several years and had reached such gigantic 
proportions that the military service was in danger of 
complete disorganization. 

Thousands of men were mulcted of their pay monthly. 
Desertions followed these wholesale robberies. The war 
department could not find the specific trouble. Post com- 
manders and battleship commanders were instructed to 
investigate. 

The army investigation, confirmed after the raid and 
arrests, showed that the whole army had been honey- 
combed with corruption by these companies. Express 
books and registered mail return cards showed that most 
of the goods were sold to soldiers and sailors. 



160 PORTS INFECTED BY EVIL. 

Fort Riley, Cavite, P. L, Manila, P. I., Honolulu, the 
Alaskan army posts, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Reno, Fort 
Logan, Columbus barracks, Fort McPherson, were among 
the posts where hundreds of dollars worth of equipment 
was sent, and where thousands upon thousands of dollars 
a month was the booty obtained by the Chicago trust, 
on a commission basis. 

Battleships in every squadron, the naval stations of this 
nation all through the world, navy yards, and other points 
where marines are stationed, have been loaded with the 
devices. 

It was found upon investigation that "cappers" were 
selected from the enlisted men. Agents, who ran the 
games on commission, were also found. These men, daz- 
zled by financial prospects, deserted in droves. 

MANY VICTIMS KILL SELVES. 

The men who were fleeced and had their small pay 
taken from them month after month became reckless. 
Some ended as suicides. Hundreds became unruly and 
were subjected to guardhouse sentences. They deserted, 
in their despair. The conditions in the navy were even 
worse. Scores of the battleship crews would be in irons 
at a time. 

To the honor of the institutions it was found that no 
officers had ever participated in the corrupting avocation. 
It was the rank and file who "fell for it," as the gamblers 
said. They became either tools or victims, to the extent, 
it was estimated, of 60 per cent. 



161 

May 22. Marie Schultz, marriage bureau ; raided and 
closed. 

May 26. Morris Jacobs, arrested for operating con- 
fidence game ; indicted on two charges ; awaiting trial. 

June 1. Mills Novelty Company, 1122-24 Jefferson 
street ; raided and slot machines, valued at $3,000, seized. 
Hulbert Mills arrested and indicted; now awaiting trial. 

June 2. Horace S. Moore, 5 and 7 West Madison 
street; H. C. Evins, 125 South Clark street; E. Manning 
Stockton, manufacturers of sure-thing gambling devices; 
offices raided and devices valued at $10,000 seized. 

July 14. W. C. Lawrence & Co., 145 La Salle street; 
get-rich-quick broker and promoter; raided and closed. 

July 25. Nelson & Co., 48 River street ; slot machines 
valued at $5,000 seized and destroyed. John E. Nelson 
was arrested and indicted and is now awaiting trial. 

July 26. Ellis C. Talmadge, M. J. Carpenter, Michael 
J. Roughan, Frederick H. Todd were indicted for swin- 
dling Frank McCuddy of Clinton, 111., out of $7,500. Tal- 
madge, Carpenter and Roughan were delivered to the 
sheriff. F. H. Todd was captured and brought back from 
St. Louis. All four are awaiting trial. 

August 9. Fred Brim, straw bondsman and fake 
prizefight promoter; indicted and a fugitive from jus- 
tice ; was arrested and turned over to the sheriff of Cook 
County. 

August 10. R. S. Green & Co., manufacturers of con- 
traband novelties and obscene pictures, 98 Market street ; 
factory and offices raided and 270,000 obscene pictures 
seized and ordered destroyed by the court. R. S. Green 
was fined $100. 



162 

August 1 6. Harvey Dorr and L. A. Sawyer, who con- 
ducted the Merchants' Credit Guide Company, Tribune 
Building, were convicted of swindling George Kertzman 
out of $500 by means of a confidence game, and sentenced 
to indeterminate terms in the penitentiary by Judge Bren- 
tano. 

September 2. Dr. Clarence A. Beverly and Mrs. M. 
Dixon, Arlington Hall, Thirty-first and Indiana aveune, 
fake mediums and spiritualists. Their "parlors" were 
raided and closed. 

September 2. Catherine Nichols, Sarah Nichols, Jen- 
nie Nichols, 186 Sebor street, fake exponents of material- 
ization of spirits and general "spook" grafters; seance 
rooms raided and closed. 

I attended a seance and seized a "spirit." When I 
grasped the ghost I felt the rotund form of a woman who 
squirmed like an eel. When the lights were up I found 
that my prisoner was dressed like a man. Her face was 
smeared with white paint. 

Attached to a pole in front of her was a paper head 
around which was a white shroud four feet in length. 
Those in attendance believed this image to be the spirit 
of a believer's dead relative. The "mediums" had spook 
images of men, women and children and could produce 
them as circumstances demanded. The light was turned 
up and the contemptible imposition on credulity was ex- 
posed to twenty-six dupes, who had been paying $1 
apiece for the privilege of attending meetings of the 
spook grafters for years. It was the greatest expose of 
"spooks" that has been made in many years. A wagon- 
load of masks, wigs, false whiskers, tin horns, gowns 



163 

with safety pins in them, skulls and skeletons with cross 
bones to match were seized. Each of the Nicholses was 
fined $100 by Justice John K. Prindiville. 

War against the swindlers, impostors, and blackmail- 
ers who operate in Chicago under the guise of clairvoy- 
ants, trance mediums, astro-psychics, palmists, magicians, 
and fortune tellers, of whom there are about 1,500 in 
Chicago, is being vigorously prosecuted. This war has 
been intensified by revelations in the case of Herman 
Billek, accused of the murder of six members of the Vrzal 
family. 

The bill framed for presentation to the Illinois legisla- 
ture provides for absolute suppression of these fakers 
who rob, extort money, and threaten their dupes and vic- 
tims. United States District Attorney Sims has promised 
to take immediate action against those who use the fed- 
eral mails to defraud the public. 

The city council has been requested to pass an ordi- 
nance providing a fine of $200 upon the conviction of 
every one engaged in such vicious frauds. 

September 14. George F. Johnston, Alvin A. HefBey, 
C. F. McGuire, promoters, 185 Dearborn street, and Ches- 
ter A. Broughn, 218 La Salle street, offices raided and 
closed. All four were arrested for swindling the Com- 
mercial National Bank, Monroe and Dearborn streets, 
out of $1,050, by means of a confidence game. McGuire 
fled to New York, but was brought back by me. The 
prisoners were indicted and are awaiting trial. They 
victimized between 15 and 20 banks and a large number 
of business firms. 

October 8. A. J. Poindexter, a well known confidence 



164 

man and wire tapper, was captured in the act of selling 
R. S. Grant of 56 Fifth avenue, $9,000 worth of worth- 
less mining stock. 

Acting for the police department, I have worked in 
conjunction with the postal authorities in a large num- 
ber of cases, and the co-operation has resulted in the 
conviction of a score or more criminals, the arrest of a 
number of quasi-criminals and the suppression of dozens 
of illegal and fraudulent concerns. 

I have the honor to report to-day that Chicago is freer 
of get-rich-quick operatives and other criminal adventur- 
ers and vicious enterprises than it has been at any 
previous time within twenty-five years. 

Officer Jerome Foreign was detailed with me the 
first two months in the year 1906. 

Officer Stephen J. Barry was detailed with me 
seven months. Both of these men are entitled to credit 
for work performed in conjunction with me while we 
traveled together. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Clifton R. Wooldridge. 



THE GRAFTER'S EXCUSE. 




Judge: "You are charged with stealing the Myers' fed 
chickens. How do you plead?" 

Prisoner: " Not guilty, boss, an' I'll tell yo' why. In 
de first place de chicken coop doah wuzn't eben locked; in 
de secon' place dar wuz no burglar alarm; in de third place 
dar wuz no bull dog; in de fourf place Myers' Spice done 
make de chickens so fat dey cain't fly. Now, dat ain't 
stealin' et all, boss; dat's jes simply findin/ chickens. a,n/ 
\ leatie it tqe yo' satf," 



FLEECING INVALIDS AND CRIPPLES. 



The Letter Writing at Home Graft is the Most Des- 
picable of All — How Unfortunates Are Made to 
See Hope of Earning a Living Only to 
Be Mercilessly Disillusioned 
and Robbed. 

This is a story of the most despicable graft extant. 
For although it has been broken up in Chicago it still 
flourishes in nearly every other large city in the country. 
It is not only despicable but it is heinous, fiendish, un- 
speakable. It is the sort of a thing that causes the 
blood of an honest man or of a manly rogue to boil and 
long for a chance to clutch its inventor by the throat. 
It is the letter copying scheme. Real criminals take 
chances on death or the penitentiary and on personal 
encounters with those whose money they unlawfully seek 
to acquire, but the vultures behind the "ads" promising 
lucrative work at home, content themselves with mulct- 
ing helpless invalids, aged arid infirm persons who seek 
to contribute to their own support and persons whom 
poverty has driven to desperation and who see in the 
gilded promises of the cormorant an avenue of escape. 

The public is familiar with the advertisements which 
constantly are seen in the newspapers offering employ- 
ment that will not necessitate canvassing, or peddling, 
and which can be done in the home with great profit. 
Occasionally the "ads" explain that the work is that of 
copying letters. 

166 



1.67 

The victim answers the "ad" and in reply receives 
this stereotyped letter — the form is the same in every 
instance : 

Esteemed Friend: 

Replying to your application to write letters for us at 
your home during spare time, we beg to say that your 
writing is satisfactory and we have decided to offer you 
the appointment. 

The work we give out is simply writing letters from 
a copy which we furnish, for which we pay you direct 
from this office at the rate of twenty ($20.00) dollars 
per thousand. You do not have to write any certain 
number of letters before receiving pay, and all letters 
you write you return to us. There is no mailing them 
to your friends as most other advertisers who advertise 
for letter writers demand, neither is there any canvassing 
or selling anything, or anything else to mislead you ; 
you simply write from a copy which we furnish and we 
pay you direct. We are an , old reliable firm, always 
state plainly what is required, do exactly as we promise 
and treat our employes honestly. 

The work is easy ; the letters to be written are the 
length of the ordinary business letter and all we require 
is neatness and correctness. We furnish all materials 
free of charge; paper, etc., and prepay all costs of de- 
livery to your home. You work only when you desire 
or have leisure time, and no one need know you are 
doing me work. 

We pay spot cash for all work done the same day as 
received. We use thousands of these letters for adver- 
tising our business, because we receive better results 
from using written letters than from plain printed cir- 
culars. We have a large number of people, all over the 
country working for us, and if you desire to become 
one of our regular workers we request you to send us 



188 



one dollar for which we will send you our regular dollar 
package of goods you are to write about. 

This is all you are required to invest, there being no 
other payments at any further time, and this deposit is 
returned to you after doing work to the amount of two 
thousand letters. We are compelled to ask for this small 
deposit to protect ourselves against unscrupulous per- 
sons who do not mean to work and who apply out of 
idle curiosity. 

We also send you first trial lot of letter paper, copy 
of letter to be written (as we desire all letters to be 
written on our own letter paper), also instructions and 
all necessary information. After receiving the outfit you 
start to work immediately. More reliable workers are 
needed at once, and we guarantee everything to be ex- 
actly as represented. If you find anything different we 
will refund the amount invested. 

Fill out the enclosed blank and send it to us with one 
dollar or express or postoffice money order (stamps ac- 
cepted), and we will immediately send everything, all 
expenses prepaid. You can start to work the same day 
you receive the outfit by simply following our plain in- 
structions. 

Kindly reply at your earliest convenience. Fill, out en- 
closed blank and direct your envelope carefully. Trust- 
ing to be favored with your prompt services, we remain, 
Very truly yours, 

Leslie Novelty Company, 
Per C. C. Kendall. 

In their investigation of this sort of swindle the po- 
lice discovered that almost invariably the victims were 
bed-ridden persons or women in straitened circum- 
stances who were in frantic search of some 'means of 
keeping the wolf from the door. Many instances were 
found where some unfortunate had taken up a collection 



169 



m the neighborhood in order to raise the necessary dol- 
lar to send for the "Outfit." Persons were found who 
were actually starving and who had pawned their last 
possession to get the money that was to start them on 
the road to affluence. 

Of all the offices raided Detective Wooldridge did not 
find record of one instance where a victim had been able 
to keep the requirements of the swindlers. The sup- 
posed letter sent to be copied was generally about 800 
words in length, full of words difficult to spell, of rude 
and complicated rhetorical construction and punctuated 
in a most eccentric manner. The task imposed was prac- 
tically a life-time job and even if any one had fulfilled 
it there were a hundred loopholes whereby the thieves 
could escape payment by declaring their specifications 
had not been heeded to the letter. 

The "Outfit" consisted of a cheap penholder, a pen 
and a box of fake pills. 

Imagine the joyous anticipation with which a starving 
cripple would await the arrival of the "Outfit" that was 
to give him the opportunity of prolonging existence! 
The bright hopes of the work-worn widow who ex- 
pected by this genteel means to keep her little ones in 
bread ! 

Think of the despair of both upon discovering they 
had paid out money so sadly needed — money which 
probably had been begged or borrowed — only to dis- 
cover that they had been victimized instead of benefited ! 

Trembling, cringing, whining specimens of humanity 
were found in charge of each of these fakers' dens when 
Detective Wooldridge swooped down upon them. They 



170 



were typical of their graft — small, mean, snake-like, 
cowardly. None among them was found who would 
bid defiance to the officers, who would resist intrusion 
by the law or who would go into court and fight. All 
were cheap and dirty in mind, loathsome, shrinking, 
snarling, but not daring to bite. 

Among those driven out of business by Detective 
Wooldridge were the Twain Novelty Company, the Les- 
lie Novelty Company, the Illinois Industrial Company 
and Blackney & Company. 

"I have raided all classes of swindling institutions," 
said Wooldridge, "but it gave me more pleasure to run 
down these fellows than all the others put together. 
They did not dare try to get money out of people who 
could afford to lose it or who were out in the world 
where they could talk with others of more experience. 
Their dupes were in almost every instance the most 
pitiable objects of the communities in which they lived. 
The facts disclosed by these raids were enough to fill 
the heart of the blackest grafter with indignation and a 
desire to trounce the perpetrators." 

TOOK ROULETTE WHEEL AND CASH. 

March 25, 1894. 

The Berlin saloon, 298 State street, was run by Thomas 
McGinnis, and beneath the saloon was a full-fledged 
gambling house, in which almost every game of chance 
was played, among the rest was a roulette wheel. Upon 
the face of the wheel were $250 in bills, ranging from 
$1 to $100. Over its glass face rotated an arrow that 



171 



worked with a spindle ; you gave the wheel a spin and 
received whatever prize the arrow pointed to when it 
came to a standstill. 

On the morning of March 24, 1894, some one burg- 
Jarized the place, smashed the wheel all to pieces, taking 
the cash, and they also secured a cash box, broke it 
open and took what change there was in it. In the ex- 
citement four $1 bills were dropped on the floor. These 
were picked up in the morning. 

Detective Wooldridge was detailed on the case. He 
arrested Thomas White, who made a confession impli- 
cating Charles Holmes and William Whalen. Both were 
arrested in a few hours afterwards. Whalen was found 
in an opium joint on State street in company with three 
white girls and two colored ones, all more or less undei 
the effects of the opium. In Whalen's pocket were 
found 32 boxes of cigarettes, one pack of cards, a bull- 
dog revolver, some cheap wild-west novels, and $50 in 
money. 

The prisoners were all locked up at the Harrison street 
station, and secured a continuance the next morning. Be- 
fore the case came up for trial the money had been re- 
funded to McGinnis. He refused to prosecute, conse- 
quently the defendants were turned loose. 



GET-RICH-QUICK EXPRESS CO. 
CAPITAL, $5,000,000; ASSETS, $1.25. 



How a Glib Young Promoter Tried to Hire a Detec- 
tive as One of 100,000 Employes Who Were Going 
to Buy Stock in His Company and Help 
Drive the Big Express Concerns Out of 
Business. 

Ordinarily when a bunch of grafters inaugurates a 
nice scheme for separating the "easy" public from its 
savings and announces in glowing prospectuses its sys- 
tem, for turning money over with profit at the rate of 
a thousand per cent it flashes an elaborate array of beau- 
tifully engraved "securities" to show that it really doesn't 
need the money, but is in business for the sole purpose 
of keeping the dear, dear public from dying poor. 

But the Aetna Express Company was an exception. 
It blandly announced that its capital of $5,000,000 was 
full paid and non-assessable, and let it go at that. It 
didn't even offer any bank references. In fact, its litera- 
ture predicted that the stock would largely be oversub- 
scribed and advised everybody to get in early and avoid 
being left out in the cold. 

This ambitious concern was launched in August, 1904. 
Its main office was at 12 10 Security building, where one 
Randolph Sylvester held forth. A branch office was in 
in the Baltimore building, in charge of Thomas S. Gray 
Newbold. It was from the latter place that the country 
was flooded with florid literature. 

The letter heads bore a half-tone engraving of an ex« 

172 '« 



173 




Randolph Sylvester 



press train, surrounded by a red and black border, and 
the names of four hotel clerks as president, vice-presi- 
dent, secretary and treasurer. These were, respectively, 
J. P. Kelly, E. L. McHenry, George E. Whitney and 
H. M. Sullivan. Neither was ever accused of being a 
millionaire. 

None but holders of stock would be allowed to fill 
any of its 100,000 positions. 

In a letter to Mr. G. Williams, St. Louis, Mo., the 
president said: 

"The Aetna Express Company is organized under the 
laws of the state of Arkansas, with a capital stock of 
$5,000,000, divided into 200,000 shares of $25 each, full 
paid and non-assessable. The purposes of this company 
are to carry on a general express business throughout 
the United States and foreign countries, to carry and 
transmit from place to place all sorts of merchandise, 
manufactured or otherwise; raw material, live stock of 
all kinds and description, fruit, cotton, products of the 
soil, parcels, packages, cases, gold and silver bullion, 
specie, jewelry, precious .stones, valuables and securi- 
ties, and do all such other things as are usually intrusted 
to express companies. 

"Further, issuing money or express orders, travelers' 
checks, letters of credit, sight drafts, transferring money 
by cable or telegraph and do a general banking business." 

One morning in October a stranger wandered into 
Mr. Sylvester's office and announced that he had heard 
of the new company and wanted to get in on the good 
thing, both as an employe and an investor. 

"You're just the man I want," Sylvester said, growing 



175 



confidential. "You see, we are going to put out forty 
or fifty wagons here in the city next week, but we are 
anxious to begin operations on the railroads as early as 
possible. Our cars are now being built. By the time 
they are ready for service we want to have all of the 
best messengers and local agents hired away from the 
other companies. 

"Now, I'll engage you and as many more intelligent, 
clever men like you as I can find to go out along the 
lines running through the southwest and talk to the old 
employes of our rivals. You will be at full liberty to 
engage them, offering them from 25 to 50 cents more 
salary than they are getting. 

"Of course, we want every employe to be a share- 
holder, but we will not allow one employe to buy more 
than one share of stock. You see, these agents are well 
acquainted in their own towns, and some of them ought 
to sell ten or twenty thousand dollars' worth of stock 
right among their friends. 

"Inside of a year we will drive the Pacific and Wells- 
Fargo express companies out of business. Of course 
you will have no objection to buying one share of stock 
before taking the position. 

"We have 100,000 positions in all branches of the serv- 
ice, you know, and many of our employes are anxious 
to take over more than a single share, but we want to 
have the stock scattered. I am glad you called, as you 
are the very man I'm looking for, Mr. — what was the 
name, please?" 

"Thompson," replied the caller. "I came up from 



r 



Bowling Green, Ky., and I'll take the job. I'll call to- 
morrow and fix up the details." 

The next day "Thompson," who was none other than 
Clifton R. Wooldridge, stepped into the office of the 
Aetna. With him were four other men. 

"I've brought some friends up with me," announced 
the detective to the promoter, who had no suspicion of his 
identity. "They're also interested in this thing and we 
want to make some further inquiries." 

"All right, gentlemen," responded Sylvester, gayly. 
"But, remember, I positively cannot sell more than one 
share of stock to each man if you become employes of 
the company." 

"That's all right," said Wooldridge, "but we'd like to 
know first if your company is responsible. You said 
you were incorporated. Let's see your incorporation pa- 
pers." 

"Well, I can't show them to you today, and, besides, 
you ought to take my word for little things like that. 
Why, this concern is capitalized at $5,000,000, man !" 

"Yes," quietly replied the detective, "but we're from 
Kentucky and we want to know what we're doing be- 
fore we do it. Where are they building those cars ? And 
the wagons — where did you buy them? Where is the 
bank you do business with?" 

"Really, I haven't time to discuss those small things 
today," answered Sylvester. "Come around in three or 
four days and I'll have more time," 

"But I'm dead crazy to get this job," insisted Wool- 
dridge, "I haven't been able to eat or sleep since you 



177 



told me about it. I'm going to find all that out now., 
I'm terribly interested." 

"Well, I can't show you those things now," said Syl- 
vester, growing nettled. 

"Then I guess I'll have to look for them myself/' the 
detective drawled. 

The promoter's face flushed with anger and he strode 
to the door, flinging it open and inviting the presumptu- 
ous visitor to depart. Then, he sank limply inio a chair. 

Wooldridge had produced a search warrant and pro- 
ceeded to ransack the place for evidence. Sylvester was 
taken to the Harrison street police station and a trip 
was made to the office of Newbold. 

He was also arrested and the entire stock of literature 
of the company was confiscated. 

When the two men were searched the officers found 
the only tangible assets their investigations had been 
able to uncover. These were: 

Sylvester — 30 cents and a box of cigarettes. 

Newbold — 95 cents and a plug of tobacco. 

Sylvester was fined $100 next day for operating a con- 
fidence game and the confiscated literature was burned 
by order of the court. 

A SOLDIER ROBBED 

After He Had Answered the Call of His Country 

Twice and Had Fought for His Flag on Both 

Sides of the Globe. 

One of those cases which are only of too frequent 
occurrence in all large cities and which show how dis- 
honest men are sometimes protected by politicians, fell 



17S 



A SOLDIER ROBBED 




A VICTIM OF THE CHEAP CLOTHES GRAFTER. This 
♦veteran of the Philippine ^ ar. Chas. Payne, was shown a good 
suit, he paid his money for it. It was wrapped up and delivered 
to him. When he opened it at his hotel he found a very cheap 
suit, two sizes too small. The Grafter was prosecuted but went 
free. He had a ''pull.'' 



179 



into the hands of Detective Wooldridge on March 14, 
1901. The whole proceeding presented two phases of 
public life — a fearless- officer trying to do his duties and 
a man with a "pull" trying to liberate him. 

For the performance of his duty in this case all kinds 
of threats were made against Wooldridge, but when the 
newspapers on the following morning took up the matter 
and presented the facts as they really were, the proposed 
efforts to have the detective dismissed for the discharge 
of his duties, were put aside for a "future reference," 
and nothing more was heard of the matter except from 
Wooldridge's standpoint. 

On the day mentioned Charles Payne, a veteran of the 
Spanish and Philippine wars, came to Chicago from 
San Francisco where on March 8 he was honorably dis- 
charged from the volunteer service. When he reached 
Chicago an alleged hotel runner, with a badge denoting 
his occupation, approached the ex-soldier and carried 
him to the Hammond hotel at 444 Dearborn street. 

Later in the day, this same hotel runner piloted him 
to the clothing store of Edwin Rose, 256 State street. 
Here, according to Mr. Payne's own statement, he 
purchased some clothing. His purchase included an 
overcoat, a suit of clothes, a hat and a pair of shoes, the 
whole amounting to $28. He paid for each article sep- 
arately, however. When he bought the overcoat, the 
, price of which was $9, he tendered a $20 gold piece, and 
Rose brought back to him only $1 in change, in- 
stead of $11, which he should have had. After con- 
siderable argument, however, Mr. Payne got his cor- 
rect change. 



180 

When the customer got back to his room, he opened 
his bundle and began to put on his new clothes. Then 
he discovered that the articles he had purchased had 
been changed and the suit of clothes was so small he 
could scarcely get into it. The trousers were several^ 
inches too short and the coat sleeves nearly reached his 
elbows. 

Payne complained to a police officer near the hotel 
and they went together to the store, where a pretense 
was made of giving him the package he originally 
bought, but when he reached his room again he found 
different garments, all of which were also entirely too 
small. Mr. Payne then determined to go to the Chief 
of Police and make a complaint. This was done and 
Detectives Wooldridge, Schubert and Sullivan were sent 
to make an investigation. 

They went with Payne to Rose's store. The lat- 
ter was pointed out to Wooldridge who asked that the 
man be given the clothes he purchased or that his money 
be returned to him. 

"Who are you?" the big proprietor of the store asked. 

"I am a police officer," Wooldridge replied, quietly, 
"and here is a man who has gone to the call of his coun- 
try ^wice ; who has fought for the flag on both sides of 
the globe. He asks me to see that justice is done him 
here, and as an officer, I propose to give him the pro- 
tection he asks." 

"You can't run any bluff on me," Rose replied. 
"I have heard police officers talk before. You get out 
of here or I will have you discharged from the force. 
I have a 'pull' and I will get your star." 



181 



"You will give that man his money or his clothes or 
you will go to the police station." 

"Where is your warrant?" 

"I do not need a warrant. Here is the man who claims 
yo* have swindled him and he demands your arrest. 
Now I will give you just five minutes to return his 
money or be arrested." 

Wooldridge drew out his watch and began to count 
the minutes as they ticked away. When he had counted 
three, Rose defiantly said, "make it seven." IWhen 
he again counted four, Rose defiantly spoke up and 
said, "Better make it ten." Then the last minutes had 
passed and the detective said : 

"Five ! Time is up ; you are under arrest, sir." 

Wooldridge then went to the front door where his 
two assistants were stationed, told one to go to the rear 
while the other remained there. He then went to the 
patrol box on the corner and called for the patrol wagon 
and two officers in uniform. In a few minutes the 
wagon came up, and when Rose saw the men in 
uniform and the dreaded wagon in front of his store, he 
began to weaken and said he would make it all right 
with Payne. 

"You will go to the police station," said Wooldridge. 
"It is too late to parley with me." 

In the confusion which followed the arrest of the three 
clerks in the store, Rosen hid under a counter, but was 
dragged out. He then stood up behind the counter 
and defied the detective. Wooldridge went over the 
counter at one bound, arnd, seizing Rosen landed 



182 



him in the wagon before he could realize that he was 
facing a dreadfully earnest proposition. 

He and his clerks were soon in the Harrison street 
station. There Rose denied his identity and said his 
name was Hill, but letters and other papers in his posses- 
sion clearly showed who he was. All of them gave bond 
later, Ren Barrett becoming surety for them. 

Threats were again made that the officer would be dis- 
charged for making the arrest and machinery was at 
once put in motion for that purpose. 

Friends of Rosen, who was considered a man of 
some influence in politics because he controlled a few 
votes, went to see Chief of Police Kipley and com- 
plained that detectives exceeded their authority in mak- 
ing the arrest without warrants. Kipley, of course, list- 
ened to the story which was, of course, colored to favor 
the man arrested. 

The next morning the men were arraigned before 
a police justice, and the evidence of the complaining 
witness was heard. No evidence was heard from the 
defense nor was any asked for, yet the men were dis- 
charged. The facts reached the Evening News and 
Chicago Inter-Ocean, and reporters were sent out to see 
what kind of justice it was that allowed a man who 
fought for his country in two wars to be robbed with 
impunity, and when police interference was sought, the 
officers were defied and threatened with discharge be- 
cause the ward heeler who swindled the soldier had a 
political "pull." 

Then the true facts in connection with the case came 
gut, The alleged "pull" was pulled off and Detective 



183 



Wooldridge and his assistants continued in the discharge 
of their duties. It is true the defendants in this case were 
dismissed and escaped punishment, as the guilty escape 
often through travesties on justice, but Rosen and 
his kind were taught a lesson which will perhaps make 
them pay more respect to the officers of the law than 
they did before, even if they do have a political "pull." 

When Rosen and his clerks were discharged, the 
soldier who was swindled went before a Notary Public 
and made an affidavit which supported every detail of 
the case as reported by the detectives and which. also sup- 
ported the evidence. Payne was taken to the Photograph 
Gallery and his picture taken with the -misfit clothes on 
ready for submission to the justice of the peace when the 
men were placed en trial. 

When it was stated that the charges would be taken 
before the grand jury, Wooldridge declared he would 
take the complaining witness to his own house where 
he could remain until the case was reached even if it 
were a year later. W. E. Parmer of the Palmer House, 
who was present when the assertion was made, supple- 
mented this by saying that the soldier could come to the 
hotel and remain free of charge until the trial was had 
no matter how long it was deferred. 

Payne was led to the Rosen store by an alleged ho- 
tel runner. In reference to this class of grafters only a 
few words are necessary to define them. They pay a 
license of $14 a year in order to secure a badge which 
permits them to solicit custom near the depots, as the 
police would run them away if they were without them. 
While they do generally carry cards for some cheap hotel 



184 



and solicit business for them, they are also solicitors for 
cheap clothing stores and shops which have no hesitancy 
in robbing every man who" is steered inside their doors. 
.These runners get 33 1-3 per cent of the money their 
customers leave in these stores, which is about 20 per 
cent more than is made on clothing in an honest and 
reputable house. 

After the charges against Rosen had been dis- 
missed Detective Wooldridge looked up his record and 
found that numerous complaints of a similar character 
had been made at the Harrison Street station against 
him. One case in particular was that of a complaint 
filed by Adam Bingham of Keene, Iowa, who claimed he 
had paid $85 for clothing which had been changed be- 
fore they were delivered to him. 

Another case in which the Chief of Police was asked 
to lend his assistance in getting Rosenthal to settle with 
a party who had been swindled in his store came from 
Utica, N. Y. The following letter, which was received 
by the Chief of Police of Chicago, will explain this 
case: 

Utica, N. Y., March 17, 1901. 

Chicago Chief of Police, 
Dear Sir: — 

I arrived in your city last Wednesday, March 13, from 
Iowa and purchased a suit of black clothes from E. Rosen, 
256 State street, and left there Thursday for Utica, 
New York, and upon opening the suit last night I found 
it was not the suit I bought at all. .The one I bought 
was thirty-five dollars, and this one he gave me is every 
thread cotton and worth about $3.50. I also purchased 
a wedding ring, which he sold me for solid gold at $5, 



185 

which is a filled ring marked 14 K. S. B. Co. I had a 
check on the Farmer's Savings Bank at Williamsburg, 
Iowa, which he took a part of the money out of and gave 
me his check in return. Mine was for $175 and the one 
he gave me is for $150. The check is on the Illinois 
Trust and Savings Bank, signed E. Rosen. I thought 
I would first write you to know if anything could be done 
with him. You will find a stamp for return letter, and 
it will give me great pleasure to hear from you. 

Yours truly, 

David Jones, 
34 Spring St., Utica, N. Y. 

By the advice of the Chief of Police the matter was 
settled satisfactory to the complainant on April 5, fol- 
lowing the receipt of the letter, through Isaac Abraham 
and Louis Harris, attorneys at 6j Clark street. Mr. 
Harris attended to the matter in person, and was offered 
$40 if he would report to Mr. Jones that there was no 
chance for him to get any settlement of his claim. This 
was refused, a settlement on the terms demanded was 
made, which was a return of the money in full. 

When the papers on Rosen at the police station 
were examined the officers found in his possession a 
document which proved to be the honorable discharge 
from the volunteer service of the United States Army of. 
William Hilliard, who it was supposed had been treated 
in the same way the other soldier was treated. This 
document showed that Hilliard was discharged at San 
Francisco after returning from the Philippines on Febru- 
ary 12, 1901. 

Ten or twenty more letters have been received by the 
Chief of Police of Chicago since the story of Rosen's 



186 MAUDE ADAMS' PICTURE USED 

arrest was published in the Chicago Daily News and the 
Inter Ocean, from persons whom he had victimized in 
the same manner that he swindled these parties. Each 
one of these volunteered to come to Chicago at any time 
they were requested by the police and testify against 
Rosen. If all the charges against him were prose- 
cuted and proven he would stand a fair chance of spend- 
ing a number of years in the service of the state in 
Joliet. 

Detectives Wooldridge, Schubert and Sullivan have been 
patiently waiting for him to file the threatened suits and 
charges against them, but he has not for some cause 
seen fit to do so. They have, by diligent inquiry into 
the police records, got the entire record of his dis- 
honest operations since he has been in Chicago. They 
have the names of all complainants and witnesses in each 
case, and the names of the officers who made the arrests. 
These records, in themselves, would fill a large volume, 
and they are being carefully preserved, with the possibil- 
ity of being useful at some future time. 

FARMER FINDS FIANCEE IS A BARTENDER. 



Comes to Town With Picture of Maude Adams Only 
to Find its Sender Mixing Drinks — Keen Pur- 
suit and Final Triumph Over Three 
Crafty Men and a Girl Swindler. 

While engaged in a series of raids on Sept. 24, 1902, 
Detective Wooldridge swooped down upon an office in 
the building next to the Criminal Court structure, in 
which he had reason to believe there were being operated 



187 



three fraudulent concerns. Officers were sent into the 
entrances at 61 Clark street and 161 Michigan street, but 
when they met at the door of the office in question it 
was found that the occupants had received a tip from 
persons previously raided during the day and had fled. 
The door was broken in, however, and evidence was found 
to show that the Globe Directory Company, the Edna 
Directory Company and the Martin Directory Company, 
matrimonial agencies, knew the place as their lair. 

The literature of the three concerns set forth that they 
were each capitalized at $25,000, and that they were 
jointly operated by Jacob Stroesser, Andrew J. Stacer 
and Carrie Anderson, alias Hattie Howard. Several 
wagon loads of printed matter were confiscated and war- 
rants were procured for the arrest of the two men and 
the woman. Before the instruments were served, how- 
ever, Attorney James Turnock, with offices at 96 La- 
Salle street, hunted up Detective Wooldridge and sub- 
mitted to the officer an affidavit by Hattie Howard, which 
read as follows : 

State of Illinois^ ss , 

County of Cook, j 

HATTIE HOWARD, being first duly sworn, deposes 
and says that she is a resident of the City of Chicago, 
State of Illinois ; that she was, during the summer of 
1902, engaged in business under the name of the "EDNA 
DIRECTORY COMPANY," at 60 N. Clark street ; that 
during said time, up to Sept. 24th, 1902, she did not send 
out over four hundred circulars and did not receive any 
substantial returns from any of the circulars sent; that 
she lost money in said business ; that she has not done any 
business under said name since the 24th of September, 



188 



1902; that during the time she was in business under 
the name above mentioned nobody else but herself had 
anything to do with the same; that she was not aware 
until after the 24th dav of September, 1902, that it was an 
illegal act to use the name "EDNA DIRECTORY COM- 
PANY;" that she is the only support of her mother and 
two small children, who reside with her in the city of 
Chicago. HATTIE HOWARD. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 15th dav of 
October, 1902. JAMES TURNOCK, 

Notary Public. 

With much feeling the attorney pleaded with the de- 
tective to spare this honest and hard-working young wo- 
man from the suffering and disgrace incident to prosecu- 
tion in the courts. He declared that she was guileless 
and unsophisticated in matters of business and had been 
gulled into taking charge of the matrimonial agency busi- 
ness represented by the three concerns; that she alone 
was responsible for any wrong that had been done and 
that punishment must fall upon her fair young head if 
any were meted out as a result of the raid. He conveyed 
to Wooldridge the young woman's promise that she would 
cease to conduct the business if the officer would allow 
her to go this time. 

The plea had the desired effect on the detective and 
Chief O'Neill agreed with him, in view of the affidavit, 
that the girl should not be molested. Both officers knew 
that if the promise were not kept they could place the 
maker of it in the toils at any time, but it seems the young 
woman and her companions held a highly discounted 
opinion of the men with whom they were dealing. 

Indeed, Lawyer Turnock called down upon his head a 



189 



scathing tonguelashing by Wooldridge for attempting to 
hand him a large roll of bills. After the agreement to 
let the girl alone had been made the man called Wool- 
dridge to one side and drew the money from his pocket. 

"This was given me to hand to you," he said. 

Of all things in the world that the man could have done 
to arouse the ire of Wooldridge his action was the one 
most calculated to incite him to violence. Countless times 
during his strenuous career the detective has been ap- 
proached with propositions of bribery or with "gifts of 
appreciation for favors," but always he spurned them and, 
although a poor man, treated them as the grossest insults 
that could be offered his manhood. 

His scorching reply to the lawyer was one that might 
well be learned by heart by many men in public office 
and elsewhere, but unfortunately there was no stenog- 
rapher present, and it is doubtful if Attorney Turnock 
took pains to recollect the little speech addressed to him. 
Wooldridge immediately reported the matter to his chief 
and it had no little effect on the detective's subsequent 
dealings with the crafty lawyer. 

It was the very next day after the episode of the affi- 
davit that John Valentine Kaiser, of Festus, Mo., ap- 
peared on the scene. The man with the middle name so 
suggestive of Cupid and things connubial, did not need 
to present a three sheet lithograph of his 8o-acre farm 
down in Jefferson county to convince anyone that he was 
a tiller of the soil and a milker of kine. J. Valentine's 
jeans were stuck into his cowhide boots and his clothes 
were redolent of other things than clover and honeysuckle. 
He was a living contradiction of the often heard statement 



190 



that people from Missouri "have to be shown/' In fact 
he was a typical marriage bureau patron. 

J. Val wore a troubled expression when he strolled into 
the office of the chief of police and accosted Detective 
Wooldridge. Doffing his big Missouri hat and mopping 
his brow with a red bandana handkerchief he unfolded 
his woes to the kindly-faced officer. 

"I just got in town this morning," said he, "and I want 
you to help me find the girl I'm engaged to be married to. 
Her name's Mary Martin, and she's got $80,000 and a 
marble mansion and all them kind of things. I've never 
seen her but she's awful stuck on me, because she wrote 
me lots of letters and said so and sent me her photograph. 
I've got her picture right here. Maybe you can find her 
by that." 

The visitor drew forth the picture of a woman as he 
spoke and held it out to Wooldridge. The detective 
sank into a chair. It was a large fine likeness of Miss 
Maude Adams, the famous actress. It was all plain now 
that it was a case of another sucker caught. The ruralite 
grew uneasy. 

"Ain't you going to help me find her?" he queried. 
"She'll be awful disappointed if she finds I came to town 
and didn't see her, and she's just crazy to get married." 

"What's her address?" asked the detective. 

"I've got that here, too. It's 161 Michigan street," re- 
sponded the fiance of Mary Maude Adams Martin. "But 
I guess there must be some mistake. I went up there and 
couldn't find anybody there by that name and it wasn't 
any mansion at all. There was a nice big gray stone 
building next door and another one around the corner 



191 



from that. I went to both of them, but a feller in the 
first one said it was the court building and the feller inside 
the other place said I'd have to come around on visiting 
day." 

In his search for his "lonely maiden of 20, jolly and 
kind and worth $80,000," Valentine had gotten into the 
criminal court building and as far as the vestibule of the 
county jail. The discovery that there stood before him a 
real, live dupe of the innocent Hattie of the affidavit affair, 
was not calculated to put Wooldridge into a very amiable 
state of mind, and there was a mean glitter in his eye as he 
led the booted countryman from the city hall. By meth- 
ods peculiar to himself Wooldridge soon discovered that 
a change of base by the outfit that formerly had_ held 
forth at 161 Michigan street had been taken to 299 Wells 
street. Repairing thither with Kaiser, two officers and a 
search warrant, the detective found the place to be a 
saloon. As he entered ahead of the others, Wooldridge 
saw a man whom he recognized as Jacob Stroesser, one 
of the men he had formerly identified with the Michigan 
street "companies," behind the counter garbed as a bar- 
tender. Stroesser was busy writing. Before him lay 
a pile of mail that had just arrived and stacked nearby 
were a number of letters that he had apparently finished 
writing. Wooldridge grabbed his man as the latter at- 
tempted to sweep the two piles of letters from the bar, 
and in the ensuing scuffle Stroesser managed to tear most 
of them in two. 

Imagine, if you can, the heart palpitations of Mr. J. 
Valentine Kaiser of Missouri, when the detective turned 



192 



to him and with elaborate mock courtesy introduced 
him to : 

"Your lovely betrothed, Mary Martin, lonely maiden 
of 20, jolly and kind, and worth $80,000." 

For such was the case. The bartender was Mary 
Martin. The letters that had just been delivered to him 
were addressed to Mary Martin and those he was send- 
ing out were signed Mary Martin, and breathed of love 
and devotion to a score of admirers, each of whom had 
paid $5 that he might forevermore enjoy her charms and 
help her spend her $80,000. And he didn't look the least 
bit like Maude Adams, either. 

Leaving his prisoner, the confiscated letters and the 
latest dupe of the matrimonial swindlers in care of the 
two officers, Wooldridge went to the rooms over the 
saloon, where he had reason to believe Hattie Howard 
might be found. He learned that the woman had been 
there, but that she had flown upon being apprised of what 
had transpired below stairs. 

Enraged at the manner in which he had been taken in 
by Attorney Turnock, the detective took his man straight- 
way to the office of. the lawyer at 96 LaSalle street. 
Bursting in upon the surprised Turnock, the two police- 
men, bringing up the rear with Stroesser in custody, 
Wooldridge upbraided him roundly for his deception, and 
demanded the affidavit by which he had the day before 
perfidiously secured immunity for the Howard, or Ander- 
son woman. 

The lawyer insisted that the document had been de- 
stroyed, but he quickly produced it when the detective 
declared his intention of arresting him for conspiracy. 



BEATEN BY A FARMER 



193 




A PAIR OF MARRIAGE BUREAU GRAFTERS. These are 
the portraits of Jacob Stosser and Mary Martin who ran a mar- 
riage bureau, and farmer John B. Kaiser from Mississippi, who 
escaped being victimized through the assistance of Detective 
Wooldridge. More than one hundred of these associations were 
detected and closed up by the author of this volume. They 
fleece alike the rich nobility of Europe and the poorest laborer. 
These associations swindle their victims out of more than a 
million dollars a year. 



104 



Pocketing the bit of evidence Wooldridge took Stroesser 
to Harrison street police court, where Justice Hall im- 
posed a fine upon him of $50 on a charge of operating a 
confidence game, Stroesser agreeing to refund to Kaiser 
his railroad fare and expenses and promising to discon- 
tinue the cupid game forever. 

Several weeks later complaints began to reach Wool- 
dridge that a fraudulent matrimonial agency, known as 
the Marion Directory Company, was receiving heavy 
mails at the Grant postoffice, 51st avenue, seven miles 
west of the City Hall. On December 28, 1902, the detect- 
ive concealed himself at the suburban post office and was 
dumfounded to see his old friend Stroesser call for two 
large sacks of letters and depart toward the city with 
them. The following day Wooldridge again went to 
the postoffice, accompanied by an officer unknown to 
Stroesser — Sergeant William Byrnes. Again Stroesser 
received two heavy sacks of mail and in a blinding snow 
storm, through two feet of snow, the policemen shadowed 
the persistent swindler on foot for two miles to the ele- 
vated railroad terminus. 

A train was just pulling out and there was no time for 
Wooldridge to lose in disguising himself, but he man- 
aged to do so with such success that when Stroesser and 
his mail sacks started toward town the man he most 
feared in the world was sitting close to him, with no 
chance of his identity being discovered. As he ran up 
the station platform Wooldridge had tied a handker- 
chief around his face, tying it on top of his head and pull- 
ing his fur cap well down over his eyes. Then he turned 
up the collar of his great coat and stuffed two other 



105 



handkerchiefs around his jaws so that his mustache was 
hidden from view. Nothing but his eyes showed and he 
had the appearance of a man suffering severely from 
toothache or the mumps. 

Another surprise was in store for the detective when 
he reached the down town district. Stroesser betook 
himself directly to the office of Attorney Turnock at 96 
LaSalle street. After seeing his quarry enter the office 
Wooldridge left Byrnes on guard while he hurried to the 
court of Justice Hall and secured a search warrant for 
the place. 

And, lo and behold ! when the policemen stalked into 
the office they encountered surprise number three, for 
there, busily opening the letters brought by Stroesser, 
sat Carrie Anderson, the Hattie Howard, whose pitiful 
plea, sworn to in an affidavit, had so recently saved her 
from punishment for the very acts in which she was then 
engaged. 

Checks, money orders and cash to the amount of about 
$350 were piled in front of her. Stroesser and the girl 
were placed under arrest on charges of disorderly con- 
duct and obtaining money by a confidence game. Post- 
office Inspectors William Farrell and Goma were called in 
to take charge of the mail. Next day the man and woman 
were arraigned in police court but Wooldridge took a 
non-suit in the cases he had brought against them. The 
prisoners were turned over to the United States marshal 
and taken before Commissioner Humphrey on Federal 
warrants charging them with using the mails to defraud. 
They were held to the Federal grand jury in bonds of 
$1,000 each. 



196 



Meantime the detective had located the lawyer Tur- 
nock in an office on the floor below the one in which 
Stroesser and the girl were taken, where the attorney 
shared his room with A. J. Stacer, partner of the Howard 
woman and Stroesser in their various schemes to deceive 
the innocent. He went before the Cook county grand 
jury and secured indictments for all four, charging them 
with operating an ^alleged incorporation without incor- 
porating and with- obtaining money by such means. 

In retaliation the accused persons procured warrants 
before Justice Martin for the arrest of Detective Wool- 
dridge, who, although he was severely ill with sciatic 
rheumatism, appeared several times in court, many con- 
tinuances being taken by his accusers, costing the detect- 
ive $14 in bond fees before the hearing, at which he was 
acquitted. 

When the cases were called in the criminal court the 
woman accepted the entire responsibility for all the acts 
committed by the gang and was fined $100 by Judge 
Neely. In passing sentence on her, Feb. 12, 1903, the 
eminent jurist took occasion roundly to score the perni- 
cious system of marriage bureaus and to praise the work 
of Detective Wooldridge in suppressing them. Judge 
Neely's words are interesting. He said : 

"Men and women who engage in this business of pro- 
moting matrimony for money are guilty of crime. It is 
opposed to the fundamental principles of society. Such 
a practice should under no circumstances be tolerated. 
It is inconsistent with the higher ideals of what should 
constitute the proper marriage relations. I had intended 
making an example of you, but seeing that it is your first 



197 



offense I will be lenient. Under ordinary circumstances 
no mercy should be shown. This practice should be 
stopped. The trade should be killed. The courts should 
make it their business to discourage it in a manner easily 
understood. The police department of this city is entitled 
to a great deal of credit for what it has done in dis- 
couraging this business. I hope it will continue in vigil- 
ance until promoters of marriages of this character will 
give this city and county a wide berth." 

Stacer, Stroesser and the girl were all indicted by 
the Federal grand jury and strangely, in this court 
Stroesser took it upon himself to shoulder the blame for 
the whole outfit. He declared that he alone was guilty, 
and on March 21, 1903, Judge Kohlsaat sentenced him to 
three months in jail and to pay a fine of $500. 

The noted Federal judge also severely rated the system 
from the bench, saying: 

"The police and federal authorities should combine 
together and clean out these marriage bureaus and keep 
them suppressed. They are a menace to society and good 
government." 

Although Stacer escaped conviction by the self-sacrifice 
of his accomplices his career was known to the police and 
federal officers as an extremely unsavory one. He had 
been convicted on similar charges two years previously 
and soon afterward it was learned that he was under 
indictment in the east. 



A WOMAN GRAFTER OUTWITTED. 



Detective Rids a Neighborhood of an Objectionable 
Resident. 

In September, 1891, many complaints were made at 
the Stanton Avenue Station about a disorderly house 
located at 3539 Ellis avenue. The complaints came from 
citizens living in that vicinity and from the Fourth Ward 
Club and also from Aldermen Hepburn and Madden. 
Four officers were detailed on the case, but no progress 
was made in the matter. 

Finally Detective Wooldridge was called in and ordered 
to find out who conducted the house and break it up. 

Wooldridge went to the place, which he found to be a 
handsome double house of six flats. After securing the 
names of the tenants he proceeded to make investiga- 
tions as to their character and standing. He found them 
all well-to-do people except a Mrs. Jones, who lived in 
one of the top flats. 

He looked up the Jones woman's record, found out 
where she had formerly lived, and went to the agent and 
neighbors and inquired about her reputation and general 
character. He discovered that she was a grass widow 
and lived at 2413 Wabash avenue prior to moving to 
Ellis avenue, and kept a house of assignation. She had 
led a checkered life for years, and had been mixed up 
with several men and women of questionable character, 
and at that time was the mistress of a large Michigan 
avenue dry-goods merchant. 

The facts were then laid before the agent of the Ellis 

X9S 



199 



avenue house, together with the complaints of the other 
tenants and people residing in the vicinity. 

He was notified to have her vacate and leave the 
neighborhood quietly or the police would watch their 
opportunity, back the wagon up to the door and take 
her and the other inmates to the station. 

But instead of vacating Mrs. Jones secured the service 
of counsel and went to the Chief of Police and com- 
plained that she was being vilified and prosecuted by the 
officers of the Stanton Avenue Station. Wooldridge was 
called to the office for report. 

Upon reaching the office, Wooldridge was taken aside 
by the Chief's Secretary, to whom he reported his investi- 
gations, giving him the names of all the parties who had 
'furnished him with information, including Alderman 
Verling, which was apparently satisfactory. 

A few hours later what was his surprise to receive a 
message from the Chief's Secretary to furnish Mrs. 
Jones, who was on her way to the station, all the facts 
and the names of those who furnished him with the 
information he had lodged against her. 

Mrs. Jones, accompanied by her mother and another 
woman, went to the Stanton Avenue Station, but the 
Lieutenant in charge refused to give her any informa- 
tion which had been given to Wooldridge in confidence, 
because the police, at that time had begun no legal pro- 
ceedings against her. It afterwards developed that the 
Chief of Police knew nothing of the orders to furnish 
her with the information she wanted. 

Mrs. Jones then rented a house at 2940 Lake avenue 
and began moving into it, when the owner, having heard 



200 



of her reputation, stopped her. Wooldridge was 
sent to the Lake avenue house to watch the develop- 
ments, and while there received two notes from the 
Michigan avenue merchant to .her, and was also tnere 
when the merchant called to see the woman some time 
later, who of course was absent. 

The next morning Airs. Jones secured counsel and 
entered suit against the owner of the house. Wooldridge 
was again called on to straighten out the matter, and 
if possible, to get the landlord out of the trouble, Which 
he accomplished by a clever plan. 

He went at once to see the Michigan avenue merchant, 
and after telling him he was a police officer, asked why 
he had sent for him. The merchant denied sending for 
Wooldridge, but became suddenly very much interested, 
and in reply to inquiries the detective said he supposed 
he was sent for in reference to the Jones woman. He 
then told the merchant what had occurred, and about 
the suit brought against the owner of the flat. Pro- 
ducing a memorandum, he read the woman's record, 
with all the details of what had taken place since the 
woman left Ellis avenue. 

Great drops of perspiration as large as beans stood 
out on the merchant's face, and he implored the detective 
to keep the information he had from the press, as it 
would ruin him if it was made public. Wooldridge told 
him he had been dodging reporters all day, as the in- 
formation he had did not belong to the public, and he 
intended to say nothing unless compelled to do so as a 
witness in the lawsuit which had been filed against Mr. 
Kinsman. 



201 

The merchant ordered a cab and they jumped into it 
and started to see the Jones woman. He declared he 
would close her mouth, have the suit withdrawn and 
make her leave the neighborhood. He kept his word, 
and everything was settled satisfactorily to all concerned, 
and no more complaints were heard at the police station. 

DETECTIVE IN A FIERCE FIGHT. 



Thumb is Broken in a Struggle With a Saloon Keeper 
While Seeking Stolen Goods. 

A band of robbers, called "baggage thieves," operated 
extensively in Chicago during the Worlds Fair, and 
robbed visitors of many thousands of dollars worth of 
property. Their plan was to watch an express wagon 
loaded with trunks and valises and to follow it to some 
point at which some piece of baggage was to be de- 
livered. While the expressman was delivering the pack- 
age into some hotel or private house, the thieves would 
jump on the wagon and drive away, carrying all the . 
packages which had not been delivered. These would 
be taken to some out of the way place and stored, and 
aftenvards sold ; the horse and wagon would be found 
in some out of the way alley many hours afterward. f 

Many complaints were made to the Harrison Street 
Station by expressmen at this time that their wagons 
and horses, together with loads of baggage he was 
de^irering, had been stolen. Detective Wooldridge was 
detailed to investigate these complaints, and found that 
several trunks had been dropped by some express wagon 
at the corner of Peck court and Wabash avenue on 



202 



August 9, 1893, and were carried to a saloon called the 
"Inn." He reported the matter to his superior officers, 
who directed him to go to the saloon and make a thor- 
ough search of the premises, in company with one of the 
complainers. The two went to this saloon, which is 
owned by two brothers named Jessup. He met William 
Jessup, who was in charge at the time. He introduced 
himself and told him that he was an officer of the Har- 
rison Street Station, and was sent here to make an in- 
quiry concerning two trunks which had been dropped 
there by an expressman and said to have been carried 
inside his place. 

Wooldridge addressed the saloon man in as courteous 
a manner as it was possible for any one to do, 
but he did not receive courteous treatment in return. 
Jessup replied to his inquiry in a very insulting man- 
ner. He told the officer that he must be a guy, and asked 
him how long he had been on the police force, and if he 
really had been sent there by his superior officers. Then, 
after using some profane language, he told the detective 
to get out of his place. Wooldridge replied that he had 
been sent there and that he had treated Jessup like a 
gentleman when asking a plain and simple question and 
that he wanted and expected a civil answer. 

At this time Jessup was behind the bar. Wooldridge 
was standing in front of him with both arms lean- 
ing on the counter. With a terrible oath Jessup struck 
Wooldridge full in the face, a stinging blow, without any 
cause or provocation and then started from behind the 
bar. When he reached the front of the bar he and Wool- 
dridge met and the latter told the saloon keeper he was 



203 



under arrest Jessup made another blow at the detect- 
ive, but he dodged and dec It his assailant a broadside 
with his revolver, striking him over the forehead, mak- 
ing a gash two and a half inches long, which sent him 
reeling to the floor some distance away. Several em- 
ployes and loungers came to the saloon keeper's assist- 
ance, and seizing Wooldridge from behind gave him a 
strong arm, while Jessup seized him by the throat and 
choked him three times in succession. Not content with 
this, they wrenched his revolver from his hand and in 
doing so broke his thumb. In the conflict, however, the 
revolver was discharged. The bullet entered the bar. 

The shot attracted the attention of passersby and^ 
very soon a large crowd had rushed into the saloon. 
Wooldridge repeatedly told his assailants that he was an 
officer and asked them to release him but they paid no 
attention to his demands. 

At this time three other officers in full uniform ar- 
rived and arrested Jessup, Wm. Clark and J. Summer- 
field, who were taken to the Harrison Street Police Sta- 
tion and locked up. On the next morning Justice Brad- 
well fined them $50 each. 

Some months after this Jessup became involved in a 
quarrel on the sidewalk in front- of the saloon with 
several men who were passing and assaulted one of 
them. Officer Wm. Hayes was traveling this post at 
that time and tried to separate the two men when Jessup 
drew a knife with a blade three inches long and cut the 
officer in the face, the knife entered the cheek near the 
nose and passed across the jaw, extending three inches 
behincl the ear, The officer drew Ins revolver and fol- 



201 STOLEN PROPERTY RECOVERED 

lowed Jessup into the saloon and snapped every cart- 
ridge but not one of them exploded. Jessup escaped 
and is still a fugitive from justice. 

The gang which had been robbing the expressmen 
was located several days later in a hotel on Fifth avenue 
and Harrison street. The house was raided, four of the 
thieves caught, and two wagon loads of trunks and 
valises recovered. The jewelry and wearing apparel 
from a number of the trunks had been sold in houses of 
ill fame on Custom House place and Clark street, but 
these were also recovered. The value of the property 
stolen by these thieves and returned to their owners 
amounted to nearly $4,000. 

MISS FROM MISSISSIPPI MISSES OUT. 

Damsel Decked Out Like a Flagship on Dress Parade 

Travels Far to Wed a Wealthy Stock Broker 

Only to Find That Her Romeo Has a Wife 

and Four Children — The Rescue. 

Perhaps the experience of Detective Wooldridge in his 
relentless pursuit of the marriage bureau fakers that most 
nearly approached opera bouffe was the case of Georgia 
Crosby. Set to music the story of the guileless Georgia's 
eventful trip to Chicago from the cotton fields of Missis- 
sippi would furnish a theme requiring no embellishment 
at the hands of a comic opera impresario. The incident 
convulsed the newspaper readers of a city at that time, but 
even thenall of the ludicrousness and humor of the situ- 
ation was not brought out in the public press. 



205 



■ At this late day the grave face of the noted detective 
is seen to twitch with illy suppressed mirth when he re- 
counts the details of the affair. As in most cases of the 
kind the elements of possible tragedy were not lacking in 
Georgia's escapade and it was only the astuteness of the 
policeman that turned the drama into a comedy. 

It was early in October, 1902, that an apparition in 
skirts got off a train from the far south in the Illinois 
Central depot. As a color scheme her attire was a night- 
mare. The combination of tones and shades with which 
she had decked her pudgy figure would have driven a 
Michigan avenue modiste into fits. The maiden, who 
appeared to be about 17 years old, gjfcve the impres- 
sion that she had taken the idea for her gaudy outfit 
from the lithographs of Admiral Dewey's famous signal 
at Manila : 

"When you are ready, Gridley, you may fire !" 

A traveling man remarked on this to a companion as 
they scrutinized the weird conception and his friend 
ventured to bet that if Mr. Captain Gridley had been 
there to see it he probably would shoot. A baggage man 
added his mite to the general comment by declaring the 
damsel reminded him of what the aurora borealis must 
look like to an Esquimau with the delirium tremens. 
The contribution of a college boy was that he had seen 
exactly the same thing once when he was looking 
through- a kaleidoscope at a rainbow and the kaleidoscope 
was hit by lightning. 

The girl was as bewildered as her clothes were be- 
wildering. Through the flimsy folds of her bright pink 
lawn dress the chill breezes from off the lake swept 1111- 



206 



comfortably and told her she was in a strange country 
where the sun is not so kind as it is in the land where 
cotton garments are in vogue the year around. Her 
bright red slippers seemed unduly heavy as she specu- 
lated mentally on the problem offered to one in her po- 
sition. 

Nervously she toyed with an immense palm leaf fan 
into which she had entwined ribbons of many bright 
hues. Hanging over one eye like a grocery awning was 
a gigantic white sailor hat of straw, surmounted on one 
side by a big sunflower and on the other by a large 
bunch of wax cherries. Streaming from her shoulders 
were pink and white ribbons, long and broad, and held 
in place by rosettes of magenta. A broad plaid sash en- 
circled her ample waist and hung to the hem of her 
skirt. Her arms, tanned almost black, were bare to above 
the elbows. 

And all this on the lake front in October. 

But the girl's clothes were not worrying her at all. It 
was her wedding outfit and she was perfectly satisfied 
with it. What worried her most was this : 

Not one man in all that throng rushed up to her, 
clasped her in his arms and introduced himself as her 
ownest own, called her his ducky doo-dimple and mur- 
mured in her ear that fudgy would always love wudgy. 
For such a welcome had been on her programme and she 
couldn't understand why it didn't materialize. He had 
told her to wear a pink ribbon so he could recognize her 
easily. Surely she had worn pink enough ! 

Now, previously to the arrival of the train which pre- 
sented the damsel and the clothes to Chicago an anxious- 



207 



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203 

faced man had walked nervously about the depot. When 
the passengers disembarked he pushed' forward and care- 
fully looked over each woman. But when his gaze fell 
upon the maiden with the bare, black arms and the 
other markers hereinbefore mentioned, his anxiety to 
push forward and find was reversed to a wild desire to 
flee and avoid. Twice he turned, as if fearing pursuit*, 
and each time what he saw only accelerated his speed. 

A minute later a man with a wild, hunted look in his 
eyes and blanched cheeks rushed into a saloon and 
weakly called for something to steady his nerves. To 
the expressed solicitude of the bartender he only re- 
plied : 

"I've had a terrible shock — and a narrow escape!" 

The depot policeman noticed the bewilderment of the 
Romeoless 'Juliet, and finding she had the address of a 
hotel that had been given her in case of emergencies he 
directed her to the National, Van Buren street and Wa- 
bash avenue. 

There the girl explained that she was Georgia Crosby, 
of Hickory, Newton county, Mississippi. She had come 
from her brother's plantation to wed A. E. Riggs, a 
stock broker, who had assured her he would meet he-r 
at the depot and lay at her feet his heart, wrapped up 
in ten $1,000 bills. She knew there must have been 
some mistake about his failure to meet her as he was an 
awful nice man and just as kind and loving and gener- 
ous as anything. A matrimonial agency had told her 
so, and she knew it must be true because she had paid 
two dollars for the information. The lovely Mr. Riggs 
had written her to go to the hotel in case he missed her 



209 



at the depot. As time went on and her fiance failed to 
call and claim her she was directed to the Harrison street 
police station, where she explained her predicament to 
Inspector Lavin. 

Convinced that the girl was a victim of matrimonial 
agency sharpers the inspector called Detective Wool- 
dridge into the case. After some clever work the de- 
tective became satisfied that the man who probably would 
know more about the matter than anyone else would be 
found in Austin — that his name was E. F. Hansell and 
that he conducted a matrimonial agency and mail order 
business at 235 North Park avenue. Leading the un- 
sophisticated country lass by the hand Wooldridge 
started for Austin. Every foot of the way the appear- 
ance of the queerly clad girl in custody of the quiet, 
grave man caused comment that would have prompted 
flight inglorious in a man of less nerve than Wooldridge. 
Friends afterward declared that it ranked among his 
bravest deeds, although Wooldridge has been in dozens 
of desperate pistol battles — generally with a hospital 
finish for all concerned. 

Hansell somehow got wind of Wooldridge's approach 
and he was not at home when Wooldridge apeared with 
the girl. His son spoke for him, however, and refused 
absolutely to tell where the man Riggs could be found. 

"We never disclose the secrets of our business," he 
said. 

"Oh, you don't don't you ?" queried the detective, 
facetiously. "Well, Georgia, we shall now set in op- 
eration a method which I have found very effective in 
disclosing the whereabouts of gentlemen like your dear 



210 



friend, Mr. Riggs. Georgia, there is going to be some- 
thing doing, but don't let your little heart flutter unduly. 
It has had about all the fluttering it can stand, and if any- 
body acquires heart disease in this thing it probably will 
not be you or me." 

Whereupon he promptly summoned some officers from 
the Austin police station. 

"Watch this place and these people," he ordered, 
"while I go and procure a search warrant. I'm going 
to clean it out. Perhaps some of the business secrets of 
this establishment will prove interesting." 

The young man began to wilt. 

"Who are you?" he demanded of the detective. 

"My name is W T ooldridge." 

If there had been in Georgia's mind any doubt as In 
the truth of her protector's prediction concerning cardia- 
cal troubles, it was quite removed by the agitation of 
Hansell upon discovering that he was in the presence 
of the renowned terror of the fakers. 

With profuse apologies he declared that so soon as his 
father returned he would promise to have Riggs found 
and come with him to any place the detective might 
designate ; that the agency would make full amends to 
Miss Crosby for any inconvenience caused her and that 
"everything would be made all right." 

Returning to town with his charge the detective placed 
her in the hotel while he went about some other business 
which demanded his attention. When he returned 
shortly afterward he found that "Mr. Riggs" had stolen 
a march on him and removed the girl to another hotel. 
He traced them thither and called the man aside , 



211 



"Who are you?" asked the officer. 

"My name is Riggs," replied the man, and he glibly 
gave his address and place of business. The keen per- 
ception of Wooldridge told him, however, that the man 
was lying. It was only after the detective had declared 
'his intention of forcing the man to visit with him the 
places where he said he lived and worked that the gay 
Lothario of Georgia's romance broke down. 

"Really, I don't want to marry her now that I've seen 
her," he whispered. "I saw her get off the train at the 
depot the other day and the sight was too much for my 
nerves. Can't we fix this up some way? There's $200 
in it." 

"All right," assented Wooldridge, "but we'll go over to 
the station and fix it up over there." 

In the office of Inspector Lavin Wooldridge demanded 
to know what Riggs would do for the girl. 

"I'll willingly send her back to where she came from," 
said Riggs. "I sent her the money to come here on." 

"But the young lady's feelings have been cruelly 
jarred," suggested the detective. "Here she came all 
the way from Mississippi to marry a rich broker. Just 
think what a reputation you'll be giving the fair city of 
Chicago down there where the cotton blossoms grow — 
unless you do the right thing. I'm afraid the fair maid's 
heart needs balm — green balm, if you please. It looks to 
me as if it were up to you to supply a thick plaster of frog- 
skins — long green ones — with which to patch the lady's 
blighted romance." 

Inspector Lavin's stout sides were shaking with laugh- 
ter at the discomfiture of Riggs, who mopped his brow 



212 



and shivered every time his eyes rested on his circus 
poster "fiancee." 

As a fitting recompense for his failure to keep his con- 
tract with the Miss from Mississippi Riggs was told 
that $100 would be about right. He thought the figure 
exorbitant until Wooldridge quietly remarked : 

"Well, perhaps I'd better telephone out to Austin and 
ask your wife and the four children to step down here 
and take a look at your lovely betrothed from Dixie 
land." 

The shock was too much for "Mr. Riggs." He un- 
bosomed himself then and there and begged for mercy. 

For "Mr. Rig'gs" was none other than Mr. Hansel!, 
the elder. Wooldridge had discovered that the matri- 
monial agent was an albino and had been aware of his 
identity from the first. 

A kind police matron showed Georgia where to conceal 
her $100 where it would be safe from thieves on the trip 
back to the southland and the girl and her clothes started 
back to Mississippi. 

"And now you be good," was the parting admonition 
of the detective to the marriage bureau man. There was 
a significant, twinkle in the grave officer's eye as he said 
it, but Hansell understood so well that he has since given 
no trouble to the famous foe of the fakers. 

And Georgia? 

"Well," said she, before the train pulled out, "There 
ain't 'any fly stock brokers down Newton county way, but 
there's some pretty nice boys around home all the same, 
and there's plenty of them just crazy to marry me. And 
they ain't got no pink eyes and white hair and wives 
and children and things, either." 



13 



TERROR OF CITIES. 



Reckless and Careless Women Drivers Place Pedes- 
trians in Great Peril. 

Among the terrors of a large city are the drivers of 
horses, and one of the most serious obstacles to the 
maintenance of orthodox religious injunctions by police 
officers, so far as swearing is concerned, is met in their 
endeavors to prevent pedestrians from being crushed 
beneath the wheels of vehicles. If you are fortunate 
enough, with the aid of policemen at the street crossings, 
to keep out of the way of brewery wagons and ice 
wagons, you are still not safe, for there is another danger 
to be avoided. This is the woman who owns a horse and 
buggy. The police officer can often manage the big 
teamsters who drive two, four and sometimes six horses, 
but the woman driving one horse is beyond his control. 
C. B. Lewis, the famous "M Quad" of the Detroit Free 
Press, saw the humorous side of this terror of the street 
once while he was on a visit to Chicago, and as it could 
not possibly be p'rinted in any better manner, the author 
will tell of it in Mr. Lewis's own words. Detective Wool- 
dridge saw him dodging a woman behind a horse one 
day and watched the papers for his views on the subject, 
and here is what he wrote.: 

Between the woman who wanders about . the street 
shoving a baby carriage before her and the woman who 
drives a horse and buggy there is choice. The baby car- 
riage can sometimes be dodged, jumped over or got 



214 



around. You can sometimes evade it by climbing a tele- 
graph pole or rushing into a basement. If you are armed 
with a club and can look ferocious the woman will some- 
times turn aside and cripple some one else. But for the 
woman who drives a horse and buggy — look out ! 

I saw her start out the other day. When the horse left 
the post the woman was looking back to wave her hand 
at somebody and the lines were on the dashboard. There 
was an ice wagon coming up the street, but wave she 
must and did. She was almost ready to turn her at- 
tention to the horse, when he stopped. He had 
to. He had run plump into the ice wagon team, 
and he couldn't climb over them. The woman 
picked up the lines, pulled on the "gee" and then 
on the "haw," ran the horse over the curbstone and 
twisted around a tree, and as she got into the street 
again she upset a swill cart with the off wheels and went 
her way with serene countenance. 

When she reached the avenue she was fussing with 
the laprobe, and the horse took a long turn. There was 
a street car passing, and if the driver hadn't put on the 
brake and turned his horses across the track she would 
have been run down. It is doubtful if she noticed the 
fact. She pulled on one rein with both hands, told 
Dobbin to "git ap," and finally got away on a straight 
line on the wrong side of the street, of course. A brick 
team crowded her into the curbstone, but the smile never 
left her face. A milk wagon rubbed the fore wheel and 
the milkman yelled at her, but she looked straight ahead. 
The horse finally crossed over to the other side on his 
own account, and the street car missed the hind wheel 



215 



by such a close shave that half the passengers cried out 
in alarm. 

All of a sudden the woman pulled hard on both of the 
lines and cried "Whoa!" She had been struck at sight of 
a new hat on a passing woman and she wanted to see 
more of it. A grocer's delivery wagon was following 
close behind and the sudden stop brought about a crash. 
Horse, woman and phaeton were slewed around and al- 
most upset, but the only one at all disturbed was the 
horse. He didn't seem to believe in sudden changes. 
He was hawed and geed and pulled into shape and as 
ne j°gg e d along the lines were dropped while the driver 
fussed with her hat. Her buggy struck the nose of a 
horse backed up to a grocer's door, brushed against an 
express wagon, skinned along the side of a street car and 
finally locked wheels with a beer wagon. Nothing was 
broken, nobody disturbed in mind or body. A harness- 
maker backed her horse out and headed him down street, 
and the serene journey was again resumed, to be inter- 
rupted on the next block by the animal bringing up 
against the back end of a farmer's wagon. 

"What in blazes — !" roared the farmer, but he stopped 
there. She had dropped the lines to tuck in the lap- 
robe. 

Down at the next street three men stood talking. The 
phaeton crossed over and made a bee line for them and 
drove them ofr" and then crossed back and skinned along 
a pib of brick and drove four or five stone-cutters to 
jump for their lives. It was just half a block further 
that the horse was hawed to cross to a photograph gal- 
lery. Vehicles were passing in a mob. A private car- 



216 THE "GREEN-SISTERS" GRAFT 

riage was stopped dead still, a Ashman's cart backed 
into a sand team and a plumber's horse given a set-back 
to last him a month, but retribution was at hand. A 
two-horse dray caught a hind wheel of the phaeton and 
wrenched it off and drove splinters into the pavement. 
Someone held the horse and someone else helped the 
woman out, and when she surveyed the wreck she mildly 
observed : 

"I wonder how on earth that could possibly have hap- 
pened when'I am such a good driver!" 

I give you fair warning. I saw her at the wagon shop 
yesterday bargaining for a new wheel. She intends to 
drive out again. No arrangements can be made with 
the signal service men to hoist the danger flag when she 
starts out, nor will th#police ride on ahead and clear the 
streets. The public must look out for itself until the 
legislature again convenes and some law can be made to 
cover the case. 

RACHEL GORMAN'S "GREEN SISTERS" 
GRAFT. 



How Thousands of Dollars Were Collected for the 
Care and Cure of Epileptics by One of the Smooth- 
est Confidence Women in the World — Garbed 
as Nuns Solicitors Preyed Upon Wealthy 
and Prominent Men. 

The rise and fall of Rachel Gorman makes one of the 
most unique stories in the history of graft. The woman's 
scheme was peculiar to herself. She was in no sense a 
copyist, but on the contrary was an originator. Her 



217 




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l;;ighe saloo 



218 



methods were bold and far-reaching. She rushed in 
where angels feared to tread and "made good." In the 
garb of a nun she placed the magic touch upon the purse 
strings of men high in office, of race track frequenters 
and of business men, and she had dozens of trained as- 
sistants doing the same thing. And then in the same 
nun's habiliments she would toss her easily gotten pelf 
over saloon bars within a stone's throw of the offices of 
her victims, lift her saintly robes to her knees and dance 
jigs of jubilation for the edification oi those who were 
helping her to drink up the money she had collected in 
the name of suffering humanity. 

All in all Rachel was a wonder. She served ,an ex- 
tended apprenticeship before essaying to strike out for 
herself, and when she did launch her bark upon the 
golden sea of graft, she trimmed her sails in a manner 
that left all rivals in her wake. Even after her craft 
struck the shoals of police interference and was dashed 
to pieces on the rocks of authority, she saved a young 
fortune from the wreck and quit winner by many thou- 
sand dollars. 

The "Rachel Gorman Home for Epileptics" will stand 
for all time to come as the smoothest and at the same time 
the "rawest" enterprise of the kind that has ever been 
encountered by the police of any city in the United States. 
The "home" was nothing more nor less than the mag- 
nificent dwelling in Blue Island, 111., purchased by the 
Gorman woman for her own private dwelling. The only 
semblance to an epileptic home was artfully provided by 
Rachel, who had two or three servants trained to throw 
fake fits at stated intervals on the front lawn for the 



219 



purpose of impressing her neighbors and the police. Also 
she managed to keep one or two "pay patients" in the 
house who were of greater value than the servants in the 
"fit" line, because they could have real, bona fide fits ac- 
casionally. 

Of Rachel Gorman's early life little is known, but 
enough of her checkered career was uncovered by the 
police to stamp her as a marvel among female grafters. 
Up to the time when her graft was broken up, in the fall 
of 1904, she had traveled a fast enough pace to have been 
married three times, to have acquired an unprecedented 
capacity for alcoholic liquors and a faculty for getting 
the money that would have put John D. Rockefeller into 
Class B. had she been permitted to go on unmolested. 

All the more wonderful is it that she could array 
herself in churchly attire, assume the expression of a 
Madonna and throw enough beseeching tenderness into 
her voice to draw money out of the tightest fist that ever 
clutched a hundred dollar bill. 

The higher the position of the person she tackled the 
higher the toll she exacted. She carried a list of promi- 
nent men who had contributed, and when she wished to 
impress a victim with the fact that his donation was not 
commensurate with his position in the world she would 
produce the list, and by the subtle means known only to 
Rachel, would drag a check out of the man for perhaps 
ten or twenty times the amount he had originally intended 
to contribute. Among those whom she victimized were 
Governor Richard Yates of Illinois and William Jen- 
nings Bryan, each of whom had unhesitatingly handed 
her a $100 bill. With these names and those of dozens 



220 



of other prominent men, she procured cash at a landoffice 
rate. In a single day she is known to have collected 
$164. 

The Gorman woman laid the foundation for her career 
when she entered the service of a man of the name of 
Held, who started the "Illinois Home for Epileptics," 
and advertised that he could cure epilepsy. He was not 
even a licensed physician at the time, being only a student, 
but he did a good business through Rachel Gorman, who 
arrayed herself in a striking costume, resembling that of 
a trained nurse, and collected goodly sums for the 
charity department of the home. Held found, after three 
years of prosperity, however, that Rachel was prospering 
faster than he was and*he discharged her. He gave as his 
reasons that she was appropriating too much of the money 
collected for her own use, that she drank to excess and 
that her character was not befitting the tender mission 
upon which she had been delegated. The Illinois Home 
for Epileptics led a precarious existence after Rachel 
ceased to play the part of principal "meal ticket" for it, 
and after moving about from place to place, found a 
home at Arlington Heights, 111. Then it proceeded to 
burn down, leaving the field clear for Rachel, who mean- 
while had concocted plans of her own for the poor, fore- 
saken epileptics. 

She persuaded a man named S. F Cleveland and an- 
other person, known as "Doctor" Gibson, to join in the 
establishment of an enterprise which was given the title 
of the "American Chronic and Epileptic Association." 
Headquarters were established at 1015 North Clark street. 
Cleveland w T as manager, Rachel Gorman occupied the 



A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING 



221 




THE CHARITY HOSPITAL GRAFTER. A photograph from 
real life. Rachel Gorman dressed as a nun, collected thousands 
of dollars for a fake Epileptic Hospital. She got one hundred 
dollars each from the Governor of Illinois and Wm. J. Bryan. She 
was arrested and put out of business by the author of this book. 



2i: 



"charity chair" and "Doctor" Gibson attended to the 
medical end of the show. It appeared subsequently that 
"Doctor" Gibson was not at that time a physician, but 
bore the title of "Doctor" because he was or had been 
a clergyman. 

But this scheme ended in a fight. Cleveland accused 
the woman of withholding donations made to herself 
and assistants, whom she trained as carefully as a stage- 
manager directs a comic opera chorus. He also accused 
Gibson of pretending to be a physician when the extent 
of his knowledge in the medical line was the administra- 
tion of some kind of "dope" to the occasional patients 
who dropped in for "treatment." 

Gibson, Gorman & Co. then organized a scheme on 
their own account, called the American Epileptic Charity 
Association, but soon they too split. Cleveland opened 
the Cleveland Neurotarium, a fake epileptic cure estab- 
lishment, at 1065 North Clark street, and sought to emu- 
late Rachel's system of soliciting by sending out a num- 
ber of solicitors dressed as nurses. But he had reckoned 
without Rachel Gorman. Her time had. come and she 
grasped the chance of her life. She arranged with a Mrs. 
White at Round Lake, 111., to board such patients as she 
might send to her farm house and advertise that the 
"Rachel Gorman Home for Epileptics" was at Round 
Lake. Then she gathered her corps of solicitors together 
and went after the money. The dress she put on them 
was striking. It consisted of a long green robe and hood, 
patterned after the gown of the Sisters of Charity, with a 
cross on the white breast linen, and the legend "Epileptic 
Charity." 



22b 



These women Mrs. Gorman sent broadcast soliciting 
funds. They became familiar figures throughout the 
business district of the city, at the race tracks, in sa- 
loons and on the trains going to and from the race 
courses. Their routes were laid out for them daily by 
Rachel Gorman, who did her work so well that the money 
rolled in by the hatful. Meantime the good that was 
being done the epileptics of the community was scarcely 
noticeable. In eighteen months seven patients were 
picked up and sent to the farm house at Round Lake. 
When the graft got so good that Rachel had no time to 
think about epileptics she simply broke connections with 
the farmer's wife, incidentally owing the woman $229. 

In 1904 the game had become fast and furious. In 
June of that year Rachel Gorman purchased a fine house 
in Blue Island and from that time on the "home" was 
advertised as being located in that town. For the sake 
of convenience a city office was established at 91 Wis- 
consin street. Here each day the fake "nuns" gathered 
to don their green habits and white coifs and receive in- 
structions from Rachel. She enlarged her field and be- 
gan sending the women on trips to other cities. She kept 
careful track of state and county fairs and had one or 
two "nuns" on hand wherever there was money being 
spent by large numbers of people. She herself attended 
conventions of all kinds and her revenue from the poli- 
ticians was no small portion of her loot. 

Rachel had a system of her own for gathering money 
at the race tracks. So far as is known it was the only 
really successful system ever devised for assuring a full 
pocket book after the horses had quit going around the 



224 



magnetic oval. She would bet on the horses, drink, 
dance and sing — all in her nun's garb — and with the as- 
sistance of several friends would keep careful tab on 
those who won large sums of money. By the time the 
trains started home she had every big winner marked for 
a large "touch." She would enter into their jubilation 
over their success with -great gusto and at the height of the 
hilarity she would ask for a donation. She never took 
"no" for an answer, and there is no instance on record 
where she failed to obtain a liberal sum from any suc- 
cessful bettor upon whom she bent her efforts. Many 
cheerfully gave money to the "green sister" in the belief 
that their good luck was due to her presence at the track. 
Others donated rather than be dubbed "cheap" before a 
car full of people, most of whom were aware of their 
success in the betting ring. But it mattered not to Rachel 
what motives inspired the cointributions so long as they 
found their way to her fat pocket book. The racing 
season was fine for Rachel. 

Soon after one of the solicitors was sent to St. Louis 
it was discovered by the police that an account of large 
proportions had been opened with a bank in that city. 
The Republican and Democratic conventions at Spring- 
field, 111., were a source of harvest and in Chicago con- 
tributing to the "green sisters", had become a habit with 
thousands of people. The public had accepted the nuns 
as an established institution and opened up their purse 
strings accordingly. 

The fall came October 18, 1904. The police had heard 
from Secretary Egan of the State Board of Health that 



A NIGHT SCENE ON THE LEVEE 



225 




THE GRAFTERS' CLUB-ROOM. Tho gilded saloon is where 
the crook and all kinds of grafters meet and lure their victims. 



226 



the Epileptic Charity home was a bogus proposition and 
they determined to break it up. 

Detective Wooldridge raided the Wisconsin street 
office and then went to the Blue Island house, where, 
accompanied by the chief of the local police, he paid a 
call upon Rachel. The woman was found in an invalid's 
chair, with a pair of crutches at her side. She claimed 
to be unable to move, owing to an injury she had received 
by falling through a defective sidewalk., She discussed 
her "work" with the officers, however, and put up an 
artistic game of talk concerning the conduct of her sys- 
tem. She claimed that most of her patients were scat- 
tered throughout Chicago and they were treated at their 
homes or else called at the sanitarium for attention. 

The Blue Island City Council had enacted an ordinance 
prohibiting a home for epileptics in the town, but the 
threat of the Gorman woman to sue the city for damages 
for her injury seemed to restrain the city authorities from 
enforcing it. 

The scene at the bouse was like an act from a farce 
comedy. The officers found the supposed invalid seated 
on the rear porch, chatting with some friends. They in- 
formed her that they possessed a search warrant for the 
premises. The woman immediately leaped to her feet, 
and forgetting that she was supposed to be crippled, ran 
into the house and defied the policemen to enter. She 
menaced them with her uplifted crutches and used lan- 
guage more forceful than elegant. 

"Dowie himself couldn't cure a cripple quicker than 
that, " commented Wooldridge, as the two officers pushed 
past the infuriated woman and began to search the vari- 



227 



ous rooms. When she saw that the officers were not to 
be turned aside Rachel bowed to the inevitable and fol- 
lowed them through the house. For one hour and a 
half the "invalid" stood upon her feet, unaided by 
crutches, and kept up a running fire of jokes and coarse 
comment with the intruders. She invited them to sup- 
per and told them that if they would come and stay a 
week she would show them what kind of hospitality her 
hospital could put up. She told them that detectives had 
been after her before and that she valued their visits 
highly as a mode of advertisement for her institution. 

"It's a queer game," she said. "Out here in Blue 
Island they want to run me out because I keep epileptics, 
and the Chicago police are after me because I don't keep 
epileptics. It looks to me like a case of 'heads I win and 
tails you lose.' " 

A mass of documents, including memoranda and let- 
ters, was found by Wooldridge, which showed that thou- 
sands of dollars had been collected by the woman and 
her assistants. The women worked on a commission 
basis, and from the appearance of the credit sheets it 
was plain that Rachel was not the only person who was 
thriving on the epileptic "graft. It was found that she 
had paid $3,000 down on the house she occupied and that 
she also had a large bank account. 

Further action was deemed unnecessary by Wool- 
dridge, as the publicity given the exposure in the news- 
papers rendered it impossible for the "green sisters" to 
do any more grafting in Chicago or anywhere within 
many hundreds of miles. The green robes from the 
Wisconsin street office were confiscated and turned over 



228 100 VARIETIES OF CON-GAMES 

to the city custodian and a warning was given to Rachel 
that if any evidence of an attempt on her part to resume 
business were found trouble of a serious nature would 
follow for her. 

To this day the "sweet faces" of the "Green sisters" 
have not reappeared on the streets of Chicago. 

CONFIDENCE GAMES. 



Details of the Many Schemes and Devices Employed 
to Fleece Strangers. 

Of all criminals with which the Police Department of 
any great city has to deal/ confidence men are the most 
troublesome. The smooth, well-dressed bunko steerer 
often escapes the eye of the most vigilant officer and 
picks his victim from the depots, public buildings, and 
streets, where policemen are detailed in large numbers. 

The Chicago police have encountered the confidence 
man in a hundred varieties of "con'' games. They have 
found him in league with politicians and other persons 
of influence, and waging a war against him has been a 
task which required the most skillful work. Detective 
Wooidridge has been the known enemy of the oily- 
tongued criminal, and during his service in the Chicago 
Police Department he has battled with him unrelentingly. 
His efforts have resulted in the breaking up of some of 
the most notorious and best organized gangs of "con" 
men, and more than one of this gentry now in the Joliet 
penitentiary can consider his stripes a souvenir of De- 
tective Wooldridge's work in behalf of society and law 
and order. 



229 

During the first four years of the administration of 
Mayor Carter H. Harrison, the younger, the press again 
and again called attention to the robberies committed by 
confidence men. Chief of Police Joseph Kipley called 
Wooldridge in and instructed him to wage a relentless 
warfare on the "con" men. 

With the assistance of several officers from Chief Kip- 
ley's office, Wooldridge invaded the haunts of the confi- 
dence men, and, entirely disregarding their political in- 
fluence, he broke up gang after gang. Hundreds were 
arrested and ordered- to leave Chicago or fined, and 
others were indicted by the grand jury upon evidence 
gathered and presented by Detective Wooldridge. 

Soon the "tip" went to the politicians who posed as 
the protectors or backers of the confidence men, "Have 
Wooldridge called off, or the game is gone." 

Wooldridge was not "called off," and as a result, 
Chicago, for the first time in twenty years, was practic- 
ally cleared of confidence men. Charles Gundorf, known 
as a "fixer" and also as the "King of Con Men," quit 
Chicago. Finding that he could not follow his nefarious 
pursuits here, Gundorf went to Niagara Falls, where he 
secured certain "privileges." He took with him from 
Chicago a score of bunko steerers and "con" men who 
found W T ooldridge's efforts ruinous to their games. Gun- 
dorf and his gang is but one of a number which aban- 
doned Chicago before the onslaught of Wooldridge and 
his fellow officers from Chief Kipley's office. The ma- 
jority of these "grafters" went to Buffalo or that vicin- 
ity to work during the Pan-American Exposition. Chief 
of Police O'Neill kept up the good work, and all g| 



230 



these men were driven out or abandoned confidence 
work. 

Previous to January, 1901, the names of Charles Gun- 
dorf, "Farmer" Brown, George Beazley, "Big Sam" 
Jerioux, "Kid" Wilson, "Dirty" Eddie Hall, George 
Harrass, "Bunk" Allen, Harry Featherstone and Lamon 
Moore were as familiar to newspaper readers as the 
names of the city officials. Since that time, owing to 
Wooldridge's efforts, the names of these men have not 
appeared in public print except to note the fact that 
"Dirty" Eddie Hall and Harry Featherstone have been 
convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary, and that the 
others have been frequently arrested or forced to quit 
their dishonest practices. Their political "pulls," how- 
ever strong, did not save them. 

.It was "Eddie" Hail and his associates, "Slim Jim" 
Davis and "Curly" Collins, who, on Dec. 2, 1887, came 
near killing Captain Luke P. Colleran, who at this writ- 
ing is chief of the Chicago City Detective Department. 
Captain Colleran was then a plain-clothes man, and was 
watching for confidence men in the vicinity of the Ran- 
dolph street viaduct. He had an advantageous point of 
view, and saw Hall and Davis escort strangers up the 
bridge. By a long detour, Colleran eluded those who 
were left at the end of the bridge to give signals of the 
approach of officers, and appeared suddenly on the scene 
and found "Slim Jim" Davis, "Eddie" Hall, "Dick" Dean, 
and "Kid" Murphy trying to fleece two farmers. Col- 
leran was alone, but he was determined and was not ap- 
palled because there were four to fight. 

He seized Davis by the coat collar, saying, "Davis, 



TRICKS AND TRAPS 



231 




SEVEN GRAFTER GAMES FOR SWINDLING GREENHORNS. 

Every man who goes from the country to the city will run up 
against one or more of these if he does not keep out of bad com- 
pany. Read the names of these games and beware of grafters 
who suggest playing them. 



232 

stand still." Leveling his revolver at Hall, he exclaimed, 
"Eddie, if you move, I'll shoot." They knew that he was 
in earnest, and submitted, but the other two confidence 
men escaped. He had two under arrest, but he was not 
out of trouble yet. 

Starting off the viaduct towards the patrol box with 
his prisoners, he met "Curly" Collins, who offered to 
assist the officer. 

"All the assistance I ask of you, Collins," said Colleran, 
"is for you to mind your own business." 

Collins then passed on, but when only a few feet away, 
he picked up a piece of timber, and running up behind 
Colleran, dealt him a blow which knocked him insensible. 
The others then jumped on the officer and beat him ter- 
ribly. Not satisfied with this, they picked up the limp 
and unconscious detective and threw him over the rail- 
ing of the viaduct. He struck the top of a freight. car, 
bounded thence head foremost to a flat car loaded with 
iron, and then fell to the railroad tracks. The gang ran 
and escaped. Colleran was unconscious many hours and 
was in the hospital many months, but he has had the 
satisfaction at last of seeing every member of the gang 
that assaulted him, sent to prison. 

The "Woolen Mills" gang was the most troublesome 
of all to the police, owing. to the fact that this variety of 
"con" game was easiest worked, and the swindlers had 
no trouble shifting their basis of operation quickly. These 
gangs, also known as "broad" gangs, were allied with 
certain politicians, and they wielded no light influence 
to handicap the work of the police. But their political 
influence carried no weight with Detective Wooldridge, 



233 



and the "Woolen Mills" gang is to-day extinct, the 
swindlers scattered over the United States, and the lead- 
ers and backers disheartened. 

From four to ten confidence men skilled in the art of 
acting, and skilled in this connection implies the fullest 
meaning of that word, formed the combination known as 
the "Woolen Mills" gangs. One gang worked under the 
direction of "Farmer" Brown, and others were headed 
by grafters of equal accomplishments. Three of the 
"con" men in these gangs remained about the fake 
offices, and the others worked the vicinity of the railroad 
depots, the stock yards, and the public streets and build- 
ings, on the lookout for victims. 

The outside men, known as bunko steerers, approached 
unsophisticated strangers. One of the swindlers would 
hasten to the victim, grasp his hand and call him by some 
fake name. Invariably the stranger stated that a mis- 
take had been made, and during the explanation by the 
grafter, the stranger's real name was secured. This 
was quickly imparted to another bunko steerer who car- 
ried a pocket bank and postoffice directory. The second 
swindler quickly gleaned the directories and picked out 
the name of a banker or the postmaster in the town from 
which the stranger hailed or nearest which he resided. 

Then came the fine work. The second "con" man ap- 
proached the stranger and called him by his right name. 
He introduced himself as a nephew, brother, or cousin of 
the banker or postmaster, and -stated that he was in busi- 
ness with the "Great Western Woolen Mills." He then 
invited the stranger to accompany him to the office of the 



234 



woolen mills company to have a free suit of clothing 
made. 

"We're making suits for advertising purposes, and 
all we ask is for you to show it to the folks out home, and 
tell them how the 'Great Western Woolen Mills Com- 
pany' made it," the swindler explained. 

The stranger was then conducted to the "broad" joint, 
usually an office located in the levee district. There he 
was told that the manager was out for a minute. Within 
a minute or two other confidence men, pretending to have 
come from the stock yards after selling a carload of 
mules or stock, would come in. They began discussing 
a game played w T ith four cards, three of which have 
stars printed on them and one of which bears a picture 
of a girl kicking a hat. The stranger is induced to make 
bets that he can pick out the fourth card. In this process 
the swindler who brought him to the place turns up the 
corner of the fourth card and wins. When the victim 
places all his money on a bet the other confidence men 
change the cards and turn up the corner of another. 

If the victim shows an inclination to cause trouble for 
the swindlers, the manager of the fake concern is called 
in and he upbraids the victim for gambling. If he is 
not then inclined to leave the "broad" joint without mak- 
ing trouble, a bogus policeman is called in. This fake 
officer arrests the victim for gambling and conducts him 
through a maze of streets and alleys to an out-of-the-way 
place where he is left to shift for himself. 

When the stranger leaves the "broad" joint, the gang 
picks up the samples of cloth and desks which adorned 
the fake office and makes a quick move to another fake 



FAVORING A STRANGER 



235 




THE WOOLEN-MILLS-FREE-CLOTHES GRAFTER It is 

astonishing how easy some persons are swindled by an enter- 

Sl 8tra 5 ge , r in u a u arge C T ity - This stor y in the book is both 
pathetic and laughable. It tells how they induce credulous 
people to accompany them to a fake factory for the purpose of 
fnli f g , I Ge SU1 <i ^flothes, simply by agreeing to show if to the 
folks at home and tell them that the great woolen mills company 
made xt. Once in the place they are robbed in various ways. " 



236 




fV» 



237 



office. In the event of the victim making complaint to 
the police the gang is out of the way. Officers may be 
led to the rooms where the victim was robbed, but they 
find it is so changed that the stranger seldom recognizes 
it as the -same place. Robberies of this kind have netted 
as high as $2,500 each. 

But the day of the "broad" joint and its smooth oper- 
ators has ended. Detective Wooldridge familiarized him- 
self with the haunts of the swindlers, with their methods 
and their faces, and his warfare drove them from the 
city. 

It was as a "broad" joint operator that "Farmer" 
Brown became famous, although Charles Gundorf is 
generally spoken of as the originator of this infamous 
swindle. Brown took the part of a Kentucky farmer 
who had just sold a load of mules, and his smooth talk 
induced hundreds of victims to bet their money on the 
card game swindle. A conservative estimate of the 
amount of money taken from strangers in Chicago by 
this swindle previous to 1901 is $10,000 per month. 

There are so many of these confidence games that it 
would require almost a whole volume to describe all of 
them. One which is a "sure thing" for the owners of it 
is the Tivoli game. It does not differ very materially 
from the regular Tivoli game which is frequently seen 
in saloons and billiard halls, except that the latter is on 
the square, whereas the former is a gambling game and 
has connected with, it a mechanical device which prevents 
the player from winning. It consists of a small high 
table on which is arranged rows of pins and pockets or 
holes and looks much like the regulation bagatelle table. 



238 



At the end is a short hollow post, surmounted by a negro 
head, whose wide mouth is a target at which a small 
ball is thrown. 

The pockets or holes in the table are all numbered and 
pay according to the numbers. The player is asked to 
throw a ball into the negro's mouth and if the ball goes 
into the mouth, down the hollow tube and then rolls 
into a certain pocket, he gets a certain amount of money, 
which is always declared to be several times the amount 
paid for making the venture. 

But by a cleverly arranged mechanism the operator 
can by a simple pull on a cord underneath and without 
observation, cause a small pin to protect and thus pre- 
vent the ball from going into any pocket into which he 
does not want it to go. 

There is a fascination for strangers about the game, 
because it looks simple and seems on the square, but it 
is a hard game to beat, even when not operated by 
crooks. The bunko steerer finds many victims for this 
game and thousands of dollars have been lost in it, of 
which nothing has been said, because the victim usually 
realizes when it is too late that he has been robbed by 
a cheap swindle and is ashamed to let any one know it. 
This the swindler well knows and he does not hesitate to 
get all the money he can. 

The same methods are used to get players for this 
game as are used in all the other games, "Cappers" are 
sent out to bring in the rural visitors. They are told of 
the "big sights" to be seen in this wonderful place ; shown 
pictures of women in suggestive attitudes and hear 
stories of a reproduction of a harem and this more easily 



239 



leads out-of-town sightseers astray than anything else. 

Another swindling game which has filled the pockets 
of many crooks is what is called the "goose-neck." This 
game is similar to that which is frequently seen at coun- 
ty fairs by which a man tests his hitting strength with 
a heavy mallet or maul, by striking a large pin which 
sends an automatic marker up on a tube which registers 
the striker's strength. 

The "goose-neck" is a reproduction of this on a small 
scale, except that the victim does not register his 
strength. In hitting the pin with a small" mallet he is 
supposed to produce on the post or cylinder even or odd 
numbers. These numbers are controlled by the operator 
who by a turn of a small screw which is invisible to the 
victim can make the register show either one he desires. 

The victim is lured on by confidence men or by a steerer 
who will make a bet of say $2 that he can get the even 
numbers. Of course, when he strikes, the even numbers 
show up. He is allowed to win a number of times, when 
the operator tells him he is too lucky and that he will 
allow him to play no more. 

Then he pretends to be greatly angered and turns to 
his victim and tells him to play; that he is liable to win 
a thousand dollars ; that the operator is in bad luck, etc. 
The victim will start out by betting $2, and he is allowed 
to win because the operator turns the screw to set the 
numbers bet on. Then the victim is told he had made 
a conditional bet; that is, he had won two dollars by 
getting the even numbers, but by putting up $2 more he 
stands to win not $4, but $20. This seems alluring and 
he is told again that the conditions are that by putting 



240 HOW BETTING IS ENCOURAGED 

up $25 more he can win $500. That is the limit of the 
conditional betting he is told, unless the steerers and 
cappers find the victim has plenty of money and is will- 
ing to stand to win a thousand, in which case he is likely 
to be asked to put up anywhere from $100 to $500 to 
win $1,000. But if the victim seems to be afraid to put 
up any more than the $25, the screw is turned to show 
up the odd numbers, if the bet is made on the evens and 
presto, he is informed that he has lost and the "steerers," 
"cappers," "coin separators," "outside hooks," and 
"come-ons" begin to surge toward the street, carrying 
the victim with them and he soon finds himself- standing 
on the sidewalk with no one in sight whom he saw on 
the inside. 

And thus it goes. When on the inside, he is made to 
think that every one around him is anxious to play the 
game and when they are stopped on account of their 
"heavy winnings," they encourage him. "Go in, old 
man," they will say, "you can't lose," and when he is 
permitted to win a few bets, one of them will exclaim, 
"I wish I had your luck. I never saw anything like it. 
Let me play once." But. the operator will tell him it 
is not fair to him to play on another man's luck, and 
winds up by saying, "This gentleman may win all my 
money, but I will be fair and not stop him until he goes 
the limit." 

Thus encouraged, the stranger lets his money go and 
frequently leaves without a cent in his pocket. 

An experienced confidence man — such as he with 
whom Officer Wooldridge has dealt with such a firm 
hand — is always ready to fleece victims and to this end 



241 



be carries dice, a fake lock and other swindling devices 
m his pocket. He has them ready to use in a moment. 

With three ordinary dice the swindler entices the vic- 
tim into the "top-and-bottom" or "Rocky Mountain" 
dice game. A booster is necessary in this game. The 
booster meets the victim and conducts him to a saloon or 
byway and there the operator is found shaking three 
dice. The operator offers to bet the booster and his vic- 
tim that they cannot tell what number the spots on the 
tops and bottoms of the three dice will aggregate. The 
Looster makes a bet, giving the number as twenty-one 
and wins. The operator then excuses himself for a 
minute or two, and during his absence the booster ex- 
plains that twenty-one will always be the count on the 
tops and bottoms of the dice no matter how they are 
thrown. The victim quickly sees this. 

When the operator returns he offers to make more 
bets. The booster apparently wishes to discourage bet- 
ting, but the operator is so insistent at wagering his 
money on what appears to be a certain loss that the 
booster tells the victim to bet with him. It is an easy 
matter to lure the stranger into this swindle. 

After the money is bet the victim is usually allowed to 
win the first wager. The operator then increases the size 
of the bet to the amount which he believes the victim 
to possess. The bet is made, and the dice thrown. Some 
operators "switch" dice, putting in a dice with equal 
numbers on opposite sides. This breaks the count and 
the victim loses. Other operators turn one dice half 
round after the top numbers have been counted. This, 
too, breaks the count at the victim's expense. 



242 

In the lock game the booster with the victim appears 
to find a brass lock on the street. He laments the fact 
that he found no key. Another confidence man is near 
at hand and is introduced to the victim. The second 
swindler is shown the lock and he produces a bunch of 
keys, one of which opens the lock. The victim is given 
the key and lock, and finds that it works right, but the 
original booster is unable to work the lock. The victim 
is roped into betting as in the dice game, and by pressing 
a hidden spring, the lock is bound so that the victim 
cannot unlock it after his money is up. 

The confidence man lives strictly by his wits and he 
can truthfully be said to be a witty and a hard customer 
to handle. He is inventive and constantly bringing out 
new swindles. But with his new ideas he finds old ones 
best in some cases and hence newspaper readers learn 
through the daily press of swindling by the "steamboat 
explosion" and "tunnel cave-in." The surprising thing 
is that these ancient swindles find victims after years of 
exposure in the daily press. 

The "steamboat explosion" and "tunnel cave-in" 
dodges are used in many instances as a subterfuge to get 
the victim into the clutches of shell men and other con- 
fidence operators. But sometimes they are used to fur- 
ther downright robbery. Many cases of both descrip- 
tions have been encountered by Officer Wooldridge and 
many criminals with victims in tow have been put to 
flight by the appearance of Wooldridge when the game 
was all but sprung. 

Some years ago these swindlers became very bold and 
to demonstrate that he could catch them despite theii 



243 



shrewdness, Officer Wooldridge disguised himself as a 
countryman. 

He was approached by a booster and was led to the 
swindle, where he disclosed his identity and arrested 
one of the most troublesome gangs with which the police 
ever had to deal. 

The unsophisticated stranger in Chicago is approached 
by a booster who asks him if he has seen the tunnel cave- 
in or steamboat explosion. This usually excites the curi- 
osity of the victim and he is easily led to some out-of-the- 
way spot to be shorn by the shell game or held up by a 
fake policeman. In the latter instance he. is accused of 
having counterfeit money in his possession. The bogus 
officer flashes a star and the booster promptly hands over 
his money for the scrutiny of the alleged policeman. 

This is returned as "sound," and the victim is in- 
duced to allow the examination of his money. This is 
"found" to be counterfeit. The fake policeman takes it 
away after telling the victim to call at the police station 
later, and if it is found that the money is genuine he 
can secure its return. If the victim is inclined to object 
to seeing his money gc from him, he is told that he 
will be arrested for carrying counterfeit money and that 
the punishment is a year's confinement in the peniten- 
tiary. This yarn usually settles the most suspicious 
victim. 

There is another game operated by confidence men, 
which is the most illusive of them all. 

This is called the envelope game. It seems such an 
easy matter to catch the envelope containing a $10 bill, 
and the odds given on it are so large that even the most 



244 



conservative people are often tempted to try their luck. 

It consists of an ordinary envelope box containing 
about fifty envelopes. In the presence of the man who 
wants to try his luck, a $10 bill is inserted into the en- 
velope, which is thrown into the box with the others 
and then a chance is given any one to select any five of 
the envelopes which are in the box for $i. Each en- 
velope has a small slit in the bottom of it and it is through 
this that the operator cunningly extracts the $10 bill, 
when to all appearances it has been left in the envelope. 
It is a simple trick which the confidence men ca^ operate 
so dexterously that the outsider seldom sees how it is 
done and a great deal of money has been lost through the 
efforts of strangers to get the envelope containing the 
$10. 

It may be a matter of surprise to many persons to 
learn that the ancient shell game continues to bring a 
steady and very remunerative income to the confidence 
men and swindlers of the largest cities. 

Since Illinois was a rolling prairie and the few set- 
tlers were trading tin cups for valuable furs with the 
Indians, the shell game has been a sort of well known 
institution. It has thrived in Chicago and even in the 
small towns where days of celebration, county fairs, and 
circus exhibitions brought visitors from the rural dis- 
tricts. The cost of attempting to locate the elusive "pea" 
has long been met by the curious countrymen _ and 
"green" townsmen, and as late as today shell men or 
"nut" men can be found occasionally about the depots, 
stock yards or other such places where visitors from the 
country are likely to be met. 



245 




246 



Three half-shells of the English walnut, an India rub- 
ber "pea" and a soap box or a small table complete the 
swindling outfit of the shell man. At least one "booster" 
is essential to the success of the swindle. 

The operator rolls the "pea" about under the inverted 
shells and bets the victim that he cannot tell which shell 
it is under. The "booster" steps up first and the op- 
erator, with seeming carlessness, allows the "pea" to slide 
slowly under one of the shells. This motion is seen by 
the countryman and the "booster." The latter makes a 
bet and of course, wins. Then the victim is inveigled 
into the game. 

The operator appears to handle the shells more care- 
lessly than before. He allows the "pea" to remain an 
instant under the edge of one shell. The victim sees 
this and imagines that he has a sure thing. He makes 
his bet and picks up the shell, to find it empty. The shell 
operator, necessarily skilled in handling the "pea," causes 
it to pass under the shell picked up by the victim and 
inside the next shell. The motion is too quickly made 
for detection. 

There is another confidence game which is worked on 
small storekeepers and by which many a clerk and pro- 
prietor, men and women, have been victimized. This is 
called the "short change" scheme. The man who works 
this plan of robbery usually selects one of those small 
stores which are located in the vicinity of schools and in 
which are sold confections, stationery, etc. 

His plan is to enter one of these stores with a lot of 
small change in his hand and tell the clerk or proprietor 
he has written his wife a letter and wants to inclose $5 



247 



in it and ask for a bill in exchange for silver. He has 
the letter in his hand, already stamped and addressed. 

He counts out the small change and manages to ex- 
tract from it fifteen or twenty cents without being de- 
tected. He is given the five-dollar bill and then tells 
the clerk to count the silver to see if it is correct. While 
this is being done, the confidence man places the five- 
dollar bill in the letter, but dexterously gets it out and 
then seals the letter. 

In the meantime the clerk has discovered that the 
change is fifteen or twenty cents short. The confidence 
man hurriedly counts it again and declares he has made 
a mistake. He then gives the clerk the letter supposed 
to contain the five-dollar bill and tells him to "just hold 
that a few minutes until I run back home and get the 
balance of the change." 

Thinking the five-dollar bill is in the envelope, the 
clerk takes it and lays it aside, while the confidence man 
with the bill in his pocket picks up the change and say- 
ing, "I'll be back in a minute," departs and is not seen 
again. This game has been played hundreds of times 
in Chicago and very few of the rascals have been caught. 



248 



TRICKS OF COUNTRY FAIR FAKERS. 



Crooked Gambling Tools Sold to Fleece Farmers. 

The country fair is the harvest time for the genial 
faker. And now dealers in crooked apparatus for fleec- 
ing the farmers are sending out catalogues of their 
wares. One such circular tells in so many words that 
when the harvest moon hangs low in the West and the 
frost is on the pumpkin and the corn is in the shock, then 
does the faker go out to reap a bounteous store of nickels 
and dimes to put away against that time when the snows 
shall pile deep and icy winds shall blow. 

The faker is not a husbandman and he sows not, and 
neither does he gather up and bind into bundles, and 
yet, when the harvest season is over the faker has more 
money than the honest farmer who has tilled many 
golden acres. ■ 

For the faker gets up early in the morning and goes 
to bed late at night, and he makes money all the live-long 
day. 

Yet the faker is not an unpopular visitor to the coun- 
try fair. On the contrary, a country fair at which was 
not heard the stentorian shouts of the faker to "come on, 
boys ; here's the chance to make your fortune," would be 
considered a dismal failure. The temptation to get some- 
thing for nothing, or at least much for little, to flirt with 
coquettish fortune, is irresistible. Though a man knows 
full well that the faker is not at the fair merely for the 
sake of his health or for a pleasant outing, and that his 
tricks put to shame those of the heathen Chinee, still the 



AT THE COUNTY FAIR 



249 



TRICKS OF COUNTRY FAIR GRAFTERS. 

Crpoked Gambling Toots Sold to Fleece Farmers, 




R&7ZJ&T& Wrcez. 



victim will take the one chance out of a million of beat- 
ing the game. He doesn't beat it, for the game wasn't 
rigged up so that he could beat it. Still he is willing 
to take the chance, and he suffers no disappointment 
when he fails. 

TRICKS OF THE CANE RACK. 

Chief among the catchpenny attractions of the faker 
is the cane rack. The country cousin's eye is caught 



250 

by the sight of the array of canes which seem so easy 
to secure. A cane is something that he thinks would 
add much to his cityfied appearance, and besides would 
be useful in punching the cattle around and in slapping 
his friends playfully across the back. 

The cane rack outfit does not cost the faker much. 
A net rack may be bought for from 65 cents to $1.25 
and a canvas one for from 50 cents to $1.30. Canes 
cost from 50 cents a dozen to $1.50 per dozen. Rings 
cost 65 cents per hundred. With this outfit and a 
permit the faker sets up his rack on four stakes, which 
are purposely loose, so as to allow the rack to sway 
slightly. Then he plants his canes. 

The cheaper ones predominate, but canes with swelled 
heads are occasionally seen and here and there are crooks, 
some reproducing a miniature, a lower member missing, 
the torso of Venus. The rings vary from one and one- 
quarter to one and three quarters inches inside diameter. 
The heads of some of the canes are almost as great in 
diameter, and those with crooks are turned in such a 
way that it is almost impossible to ring them unless 
the ring is dropped immediately upon them. It is dif- 
ficult even to ring the smaller canes, for they stand 
loosely in the rack, and a side blow tips them so that 
the ring slides off. 

KNIFE BOARD A GOOD " GRAFT." 

Next in favor is the knife board. A board costs from 
$1.50 to $3.50, and a complete outfit — board, 100 rings, 
and eightly-four knives — may be had for $14.50 and 
upward. Knives may be had from 30 cents a dozen to 



251 



$3-98 a dozen. These knives, the cheaper predominat- 
ing and costing about two and a half cents apiece, are 
conspicuously displayed with all the blades open, and 
therein lies the secret of the knife board. The cunning 
faker arranges his knife board so that the rings slide 
over them as water does a duck's back. 

The wheel of fortune seems as fair as any game can 
be, yet the arrow has a "sneak" and the faker can stop 
it at any number or article he desires. A wheel may 
be bought as low as $10, including 250 pieces of jewelry, 
but this is of the cheapest kind, rings, for example, being 
quoted as low as one cent apiece. With this cheap 
wheel the first profit at 10 cents a whirl, without any- 
sneaking, amounts to $15, and the business "requires no 
previous experience." A full outfit of 250 pieces of 
jewelry costs but $5, thus making a gain of $20, and 
some fakers make as much as $50 a day. 

The higher the cost of the wheel the more easily and 
quickly the money is made, as they are fitted with large 
pins to separate numbers or colors, and the arrow point 
has a screw feather, making a certain winner of any 
desired number or color and avoiding all possibility of 
dispute. 

Nothing is more tempting to the country cousin than 
the striking machine, and nothing looks fairer. But 
these striking machines are ingenious arrangements, 
and, in the words of an advertisement of a new kind 
now on the market, "can be manipulated without a 
helper." One of these may be had for $50, while prize 
cigars are offered to the fakers for $10 a thousand. 



252 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE BOX. 



Red, white, and blue is a dealing game. There is a 
"layout" with three shields on it, one red, one white, 
one blue. A box and sixteen balls, five of each color 
and one "dealer's percentage" goes with the outfit. 
Players place their money on a given shield, a slide 
opens in the box, and out pops a ball. If the ball 
is of the same color the player put his money on, he 
wins. If not, he loses. If this was a fair game the 
player, by the law of chance, would stand some show 
of winning, but as the box is "fixed" the dealer can 
produce a ball of any color he desires, yet any one not 
in the secret can examine the box at any time and find 
it apparently "square," yet it is a tricky box. 

There are half a hundred tricks worked with cards, 
and all of such a nature that they can be worked without 
the slightest fear of detection. 

But the visitor to the country fair is looking for fun. 
The faker and his outfit entertains him and he doesn't 
begrudge the money. 



POLICY SHOPS GALORE. 



All Over the City These Gambling Places Continue to 
do Business. 



GET TOO NEAR SCHOOLS. 



Police in Many Instances Have to Drive Establish- 
ments Away — Technical Terms. 

Policy shops are becoming more numerous in Chicago 
than grocery stores and there are comparatively few 
blocks in the length and breadth of the city that do 
not contain one of the policy writers. Especially is 
this true in the downtown district and on the south side 
as far as 63d street. Many complaints have been made 
to the police recently of the existence of these gambling 
places within a short distance of schoolhouses because 
children are lured to make investments of a few pennies. 
Dnce these boys win from this small speculation they 
are started on the gambler's way and in many cases it 
is the first step in vice. The police have in many in- 
stances caused shops to be moved because of their 
proximity to schools. Other shops invite the play of 
these youngsters, while some will not allow children 
or even women to make bets on the three numbers, 
"gigs," "saddles" and other terms used by the policy 
players. 

SAYS HER SON WASTES MONEY. 

One woman in particular has complained to the police 
of the existence of these gambling shops, where her 

253 



254 



son, aged 15 years, spends all his pennies and even 
squanders money given him by his mother to buy food 
for the house. Basements in Clark street, Van Buren 
and State contain policy shops and many of them have 
plays equal to a poolroom, although the game is a bit 
slow, there being but two drawings a day — 12 o'clock, 
noon, and 5 p. m. 

At 63d street and Wentworth avenue, a colored man, 
said to have been a pastor, presides over a shop. He 
is well known among the colored people and is said to 
have preached in many of their pulpits, but of late re- 
tired for various reasons. Policy has seventy-eight num- 
bers in the list, from 1 to 78, and of these three are 
guessed, which are likely to be drawn at either the 
forenoon or afternoon drawings. This entitles the 
speculator to one chance in 340 where three numbers 
are played and it pays $10 for a 5-cent investment, if 
played in one book. 

HORSES, GIGS AND SADDLES. 

In playing a horse, four numbers, the player has 
one chance in 700, and is paid $25 for an investment of 
5 cents. For two numbers, termed "a saddle," there are 
fifty chances, and $1.50 is paid for the nickel invest- 
ment. In the seventy-eight numbers there are 76,076 
gigs. 

There is a row for every dream imaginable and dream 
books are furnished at nearly all of the shops. During 
the morning hours men and women flock to the rooms 
to find out w T hat this dream and that one means and 
then they play their pin money on the numbers. Dif- 



255 



ferent concerns have different rows. Probably the most 
famous gig is 4-1 1-44, which comes out about once a 
year and. then all the colored population has "money 
to burn." Some call it "coon row," others "animal row," 
"apple row," "race row," "policy row," "railroad row." 
"Murder row" is 2-12-22; "burglar row," 9-18-42; 
"baby row" is 1-12-21 ; "bedbug row," 1-2-3-20; "cat 
row" is J-1J-2J; "chicken row," 2-1 1-22; "coffin row," 
4-7-74; "drowning row," 8-32-60 ; "father row," 19-29- 
39; "mother row," 22-69-70; "dirty row," 3-6-9; "kiss- 
ing row," 1-8-62; "money row," 7-13-56; "prosperity 
row," 5-9-10; "suicide row," 2-7-20; "white man's row, r; 
10-18-44; Thanksgiving row," 17-25-35. 

DREAMS PLAY GREAT PART. 

Nearly all policy players are governed by dreams and 
therefore dream books are plentiful and highly prized. 
To dream you are in a railroad accident foreshadows 
misfortune, disapointment and losses in business. Num- 
bers corresponding are 4-14-41-44. To dream of an altar 
denotes hasty marriage, numbers 9-36-51-57-62; to dream 
of a horserace denotes loss of wealth and numbers 4-1 1- 
44 must be played according to the system. 

Policy writers say it is remarkable the number of 
people who play policy and are governed by dreams. 
Business men and politicians are often the patrons of the 
shops, but, of course, always send their money by some- 
one else to avoid suspicion. One downtown policy shop 
man says half of his trade comes from the city hall, but 
he refused to give any of the names of his patrons. 



256 



BUNG LOO, CHINESE LOTTERY, POLICY'S 
STRONG RIVAL. 



Favorite Levee Game Despite Unfavorable Odds. 

Bnng Loo, or the "Chinese game," as it is called, 
which, along with policy, has been the subject of inves- 
tigation by the police, has become known in Chicago 
almost within the last three years. Its fascinations are 
such that it has largely supplanted policy, and the former 
followers of "4-1 1-44," "dead man's row," "oyster row," 
and the various other rows of the policy fiend, are now 
trying to pick ten numbers to yield a $400 return from 
an investment of 10 cents. 

Like policy, bung loo derives its support largely from 
the poorer classes, to whom the prospect of large win- 
nings from a small bank roll appeals, and to whom the 
enormous mathematical odds against the player does, not 
appeal. 

The prospective winnings in bung loo are on a graded 
scale varying from 20 cents to $400 on a- minimum play 
of 10 cents, which is the usual amount risked. With 
eighty numbers to select from, the player marks ten on a 
ticket which he receives as a receipt, the company keep- 
ing one and the agent another. Twenty numbers of this 
eighty "come out," arid from this the profits are based. 
A 10-cent ticket pays as follows and larger tickets in 
proportion : 

Five numbers, 20 cents; six numbers, $1.60; seven 
numbers, $16; eight numbers, $80; nine numbers, $200; 
ten numbers, $400. 



257 



Bung Loo* Chinese Lottery, Policy's Strong RivaJ 

Favorite Levee Game Despite Unfavorable Odds. 



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258 



As there are eighty numbers, of which twenty come 
out, and the player is allowed to select only ten, his 
natural percentage would be 2J, with geometrical pro- 
gression odds against each succeeding number. Twenty 
cents is frequently secured, $1.60 less often, and the 
higher amounts rarely. Stories are told of those who 
have won $400, but such winners are usually difficult to 
locate personally. The large profits can be imagined 
from the fact that agents, of whom there are more than 
100 in the city, receive a commission of 20 per cent gross. 

As to the honesty of the drawings, which are con- 
ducted twice daily in a large room over a State street 
saloon in the levee district, there apparently has never 
been any question, because the natural odds against the 
player are so strong the company can afford to run 
squarely. Any player known to one of the many agents 
scattered about the city is allowed to make the drawings 
himself if he is at all skeptical, and usually from 260 to 
500 persons congregate to watch the proceeding. 

HOW THE DRAWINGS ARE MADE. 

In a large glass jar are placed eighty hollow rubber 
tubes about two inches long. Within these tubes are 
rolled up pieces of paper on which are placed the fig- 
ures. Four smaller jars are used as receptacles by the 
person making the drawing, who takes out four tubes at 
a time from the larger jar, dropping one each into the 
four smaller, repeating the proceeding until the eighty 
are drawn. With twenty tubes apiece in each, four tubes 
are again placed in the big jar corresponding to the num- 
bers of the four smaller glass jars From these is drawn 



2d9 



the tube which indicates the jar containing the winning 
numbers for that drawing. 

This final choosing of the winning jar also is made the 
subject of betting by the motley crowd of whites and 
blacks which gathers to watch the drawing. A few Chi- 
nese usually are present, but the Phoenix Company, as 
the concern operating the game is called, has compara- 
tively few players among the Chinese, who play another 
game operated in the city in which the symbols denoting 
the figures are in Chinese hieroglyphics. 

The sample ticket reproduced represents a return to 
the player of 20 cents. The 103 in the right-hand corner 
represents the number of the drawing. The 10 cents in 
the upper left-hand corner represents the amount paid. 
The number at the lower left-hand corner the number of 
the agency, and the letters the player's initial, few players 
giving their full names because the game is against the 
law. 

The ticket with the twenty holes punched out shows 
the winning numbers and is furnished players, who, by 
placing it directly over their receipt ticket, can see at a 
glance how many black marks show through and whether 
they have guessed enough right to win. Generally they 
have not. 



WHY GAMBLING DOESN'T PAY ANY ONE 
BUT THE GAMBLERS. 

Saloon and cigar store patrons who seek diversion be- 
tween purchases by dallying with the various gambling 
devices in the places are, in the vernacular of the sport- 



260 



ing fraternity, " up against it." This was demonstrated 
by a recent raid of the Harrison street police on the many 
" free cigar " slot machines scattered through the dis- 
trict. By dropping a cent or a nickel in the machine, 
cards mounted on wheels revolved, forming combinations 
of poker hands. Prizes of drinks, cigars or money were 
offered for difficult hands. When the police smashed 
the machines after confiscating them and examined the 
interiors, it was found that broken decks or missing and 
duplicate cards made the prize combinations impossible. 

A "Private Catalogue for Bankers and Gamekeepers," 
recently issued by a firm in Chicago and mailed to thou- 
sands of saloonkeepers throughout the city and country, 
is even more demonstrative of the profit accruing to sa- 
loonkeepers from gambling patrons, whether of the ama- 
teur, experienced, or intoxicated ilk. 

The advice to prospective purchasers of the devices 
advertised frequently tendered in the pamphlet is : " This 
is the chance to clean up all the money in your neighbor- 
hood, and you might as well get it as to let some one 
else." Cuts and descriptions of scores of gambling de- 
vices are shown, not one of which offers even the slight- 
est hope for success to the victim who stakes his money. 
The admonition often is given after the descriptive mat- 
ter, " Back of any live bar this will pay the rent," and 
undoubtedly the machines are doing so in hundreds of 
resorts. 

Loaded dice, grooved dice boxes, marked and trimmed 
cards, " fixed " slot machines, pocket roulette wheels, 
magnetized or susceptible to the manipulations of the 
bartender if not arranged with a prohibitive percentage 



261 

against the player, and many other implements are inter- 
mingled with " crooked " hyronemus tubes, hazard boxes, 
faro layouts, and " holdouts " for use where open gam- 
bling is permitted. The absolute safety and surety to 
the keeper is guaranteed in all cases. The effect on his 
victim is given no comment. 

INNOCENT DICE MACHINE A SURE WINNER. 

The apparently innocent dice machine which stands 
unmolested in scores of Chicago cigar stores- and saloons 
is described as the cheapest and most profitable for small 
places, especially where children are permitted to play. 
In this the percentage for the keeper is so great that 
manipulation of the machine is unnecessary. By drop- 
ping a coin in a slot, five dice, inclosed in a globular 
glass cover, are thrown up from a vibrating platform. 
The award of prizes is determined by the numbers up- 
permost on the dice when they fall. The list of prizes 
offered and remarks are appended and will serve to illus- 
trate for almost any of the percentage machines : 
5 aces pays 50 for 1 6 pays 25 for 1 24 pays 5 for 1 
5 deuces pays 50 for 1 7 pays 10 for 1 25 pays 5 for 1 
5 treys pays 50 for 1 8 pays 10 for 1 26 pays 5 for 1 
5 fours pays 50 for 1 9 pays 5 for 1 27 pays 10 for I 
5 fives pays 50 f or 1 10 pays 5 for 1 28 pays 10 for 1 
5 sixes pays 50 for 1 11 pays 5 for 1 29 pays 25 for 1 

"The reading of this list will convince any one that 
there are inducements enough offered to tempt* almost 
any one to try his luck, and yet the game is 300 per cent 
strong in favor of the house. This machine is made with 
interchangeable slots and can be played with either a 



262 



penny, nickel, dime, or quarter. Send in your order and 
get the best money maker ever made. The possibilities 
of this machine are unlimited ; one man is liable to get 
stuck and lose more money than a slot machine can take 
off in months." 

HAS ONE CHANCE IN 7,776. 

Here is another suggestion for the buyer: 
"Hundreds of our customers are making money with 
this machine. Why not you? This idea is entirely new. 
Why not be the first to spring in your neighborhood and 
reap the golden harvest? Upon receiving your machine 
go to your banker and buy a certificate of deposit for 
$100. Place the certificate in the frame of your machine, 
which is put there for that purpose. Then offer it to the 
first man who throws five sixes, the player having to 
put 25 cents in the slot each throw. Or if you wish you 
can put up $50 and charge 10 cents each throw. The 
player's chance to throw any one set of five of a kind is 
one in 7,776. But this is not taken into consideration by 
one in a hundred. The idea of getting big money for so 
small an investment is what catches the average citizen. 
These machines will take off from $5 to $50 a day in any 
live saloon." 

Saloonkeepers, especially those in small towns and 
country resorts where dice games are most popular, are 
recommended loaded dice as the most profitable and 
surest system of securing the player's money. For the 
more avaricious keepers electric appliances that leave 
nothing to chance are supplied. Before quoting the 
styles and prices of his wares the compiler of the pam- 



263 



phlet extends the following hints. Although intended 
for the eyes of those familiar with the games and their 
terms they are intelligible to the novice : 

"Concerning loaded dice — The most essential points 
to be observed are : First, see that the weight is per- 
fect. Second, the eyes must be the same and they must 
roll like a fair dice. Any one can put a load in a dice 
and plug it, but it takes years of patience and skill 
to acquire the knack of making a -dice to act perfect ; 
come exactly for what it is desired, and yet roll like 
a fair dice. But this is what we are doing. Every 
dice that leaves our house is thoroughly tested. We 
employ no boys on any of our work. Compare our 
prices and work with other houses." 

MAGNETS TO HELP LOADED DICE. 

For the ordinary saloon games the following are sug- 
gested : 

"First dash out of the box — The only dice in the 
country for a saloon, cigar stand, or any place where they 
shake 'first flop.' You can get three of a kind, four of 
a kind, or five of a kind at your pleasure, while your 
opponent gets what his luck would be with fair dice. 
No shifting; the only thing is to know how to get them 
out. With our instructions it will take but a few minutes 
to learn how to get them out in a natural manner with- 
out exciting any suspicion whatever. Loaded for aces 
or whatever number is high in your vicinity. This is 
your chance to clean up all the money in your neighbor- 
hood, and you might as well get it as to let someone 
else. 



264 



"Electro magnet for bar — You press the squeeze; the 
magnet does the rest. The magnet being placed under 
the bar, table, or counter is neither seen, heard, nor 
felt. It is connected by wires with a dry battery. In 
order to make a big throw all you have to do is to press 
the secret squeeze and throw the dice over* the spot 
where the magnet is concealed, and you can beat almost 
any throw that your opponent might make, and this with 
the same dice he uses, without any juggling of dice or 
box. Just put the dice into the box and throw them 
out in a natural and careless manner. 

"The dice roll perfectly natural at all times and no 
one can see any difference when the current is on — only 
in size of hands thrown. Counter magnets and batteries 
weigh about forty pounds. It acts through any thickness 
of wood, glass, paper, cloth, etc. This is the thing 
to have if you want big money. 

"Transparent dice — We are making up transparent 
loaded dice with regular plain spots. Not inlaid, but 
natural concave spots. Players always have confidence 
in the game when shooting with a set of these, dice for 
the simple reason that they can look through them. 
Transparent dice will always get the play in preference 
to any other. We guarantee detection impossible." . 

Other forms of diversion for the patron and profit 
•for the proprietor are offered at "bargain rates as side 
issues." Attention is called to a $2 pocket roulette wheel, 
seemingly a toy, but as perfectly regulated and thieving 
as the other paraphernalia. It is an aluminum roulette 
wheel weighing about four ounces and capable of being 
carried in a small pocket. Displayed as a toy, it is 



265 



usually given a few "whirls" by the sportively vnclined 
patron. 

To the Chicago saloonkeeper, however, where the so- 
cial draw poker game is "a harmless adjunct to a saloon," 
marked cards and card "holdouts" are commended as 
exciting no suspicion among the victims. In the "quiet 
little games" in the rear rooms of the resorts and the 
"private whist clubs" above, thousands of dollars are 
stolen monthly from the unsuspecting devotees of the 
game, according to the manufacturers of the "crooked" 
implements. Few of the players ever win. 

i 

HOLD OUTS. 

Correspond with us before, buying of others. We 
have the finest line of any house in the country, and 
every machine is made .to get the money, not for or- 
nament. 



No. 40. — Keplinger's patent considered to be the finest 
machine ever produced. Can be worn in either a white 
or flannel shirt, and is the only machine that can be 
worked in the shirt without having to wear a coat. 
Guaranteed to work perfectly, noiselessly and every part 
is made with the greatest care and accuracy, and in fact 
just as much pains are taken as is done with the finest 
watch. Works with a knee movement and by a slight 
movement everything disappears. Our price, only $125.00 



No. 41. Sullivan. Here is the latest style and im- 
proved machine, and is impossible to be detected in work- 



266 

ing. No coupling up at the knee, and pressing the 
side or other false movements. When you want to take 
the cards or bring them back you only have to make 
a slight movement that no one can see; no difference if 
they have played cards all their lives they will stand it. 
Price, expansion movement, only $90.00. With knee 
movement, $65.00. 

Note. — With this machine you can slip into a closet, 
put the machine on in a minute and after you have won 
your money you can take it off in two seconds, slip it 
into your pocket and appear again in your shirt sleeves. 
Nothing like it ever made before. 



No. 42. Latest Arm Movement. This is a little jewel 
and is a winner. Cannot be detected as it fits snugly 
to the arm and is worked by a slight pressure against 
side, and does not require any pressure at all after you 
have become familiar with machine. All it requires is 
to hold the arm solid against the side and swell the 
chest, which is all that is necessary to work the machine. 
Can be worn at all times without inconvenience. Fully 
guaranteed to do what we claim. Price, only $25.00. 



No. 43. Vest Machine. This is a money producer 
and will soon win out a Keplinger or Sullivan for you, 
as it is the best machine for the money ever sold; fits 
in the vest near the top and requires no unnatural move- 
ments to work, is worked by the foot and cannot possibly 
be detected. Working easily and without noise and with 



267 



a true "sneak" that gives and takes perfectly; this is 
a hard one to go against. Price, only $15.00. 



No. 44. Sleeve Machine. The cheapest machine in 
the country. Light and durable and is worked by raising 
and lowering the arm. Can be put on and taken off in a 
second. Either arm can be used. Price, only $10.00. 



DICE SETS. 

No. 642. Special. Comprises 6 dice, and controls all 
points of the game. One pair is spotted, so it is im- 
possible to throw seven. The other pair is spotted' so 
as to throw seven every other time, and one pair fair. 
You use the pair without any seven and let your 
opponent come out for a point and then switch the dice 
on him, he loses his point. One-half inch bone. One pair 
top and bottom, one pair splits, and one pair fair, 
only $1.50. 



Tops and Bottoms, Horses, Splits, Yams, &c. Spotted 
any way you desire. State how you want them. 
1 pr. 3^ in. bone, ivory or celluloid, $ .50 1 pr. fair, $ .50 
1 pr. 9/16 " " " " .75 I " .75 

1 pr. 5/ s « « « « 1. 00 1 " 1. 00 

ipr. 11/16 " " " " 1.25 1 " 1.25 

ipr.34 " « " ■" 1.50 1 " 1.50 



Set No. 644. A new one in the top and bottom line. 
Comprises one pair fair and two dice spotted to pass. 



268 



and one dice for a splitter. There is only one chance 
against you with the passing dice, and that is craps. 
But at the present age it isn't safe to win every bet, and 
as you do not lose control of the dice on the crap, 
you pass until you get tired, and then let your opponent 
come out with them; then shift in your splitter and he 
loses out. 

The dice are spotted so that to look at them from any 
direction they look like fair dice and have to be taken 
up before discovering they are tops and bottoms. We 
have seen smart people stand these and recommerd them 
where they won't stand the old style top and bottom. 
Price, y 2 in. bone, set of 5 t. and b. and splitter and fair, 
$1.25. 

Never cut or mutilate dice by putting private marks 
on them until you have tried them and found them all 
right. We cannot exchange dice then, as they would be 
of no use to us. 



ELECTRIC MONEY DRAWER. 

For Klondike and hazard games, including two sets 
of dice; each set a different combination; our own in- 
vention. SWIFT, SURE, SILENT. The magnet, bat- 
teries and connections are all in the drawer, and remem- 
ber, all you have to do is to screw this drawer under 
any table, the- same as any ordinary money drawer, then 
it is all ready for use. Hundreds now in use. $45.00 
Our magnets are an improvement over anything ever 
turned out. 



269 



ELECTRIC DICE AND ELECTRIC CRAP TABLES A SPECIALTY. 

Prices for electric crap tables according to size of 
space you want covered. 




The Pocket Roulette Wheel 



« 'Another New One. 1 



This device back of any live bar will pay the rent. 
Can be made to come high or low at will. Always works. 
Detection impossible. A great game for the drinks or 
cigars, it will perform just as well for dollars also. A 
decided novelty, never having been sold before. 

Made of aluminum, very light ; weight, 6 oz. ; size, 
2^/2 in. in diameter. Price, $2.00. 



270 



MARKED CARDS. 

The victim does not realize until too late that the 
supposed gambler's luck and skill by which they were 
beaten was robbery as carefully planned and executed 
as the performance of a professional pickpocket. 

The backs of marked cards are shown on the pages 
and carefully prepared cards are offered at prices little 
above the unmarked decks. To avoid additional ex- 
pense proprietors of places where games are unmolested 
are advised to purchase from the firm the inks, brushes, 
and pens essential to the work and shade the cards to 
their own satisfaction. Models and instructions are sent 
to economical keepers. 



HOLDOUTS NEEDED FOR BIG MONEY. 

Sleeve and vest "holdouts" of the kind made famous 
by exposures of professional gamblers on the ocean 
steamship lines are offered to the dealer who is going 
after "big money." Judicious use of the cheaper kind 
will earn enough to pay for a more elaborate outfit, the 
pamphlet suggests. Every machine is made "to get the 
money, not for ornament," dealers declare, and descrip- 
tions of a few are appended. 

Scores of other implements and devices are made in 
the place and exhibited openly for sale, despite the 
statutes concerning the manufacture or sale of gambling 
paraphernalia. The place is visited daily by many 
buyers and the purchases are shipped with little secrecy. 



271 

No electrician knows the uses of a little piece of in- 
sulated wire better than many of the professional gam- 
blers in Chicago. That is why the men continue to be 
professional gamblers, and are not serving the city as 
professional criminals. 

The intricate system of alarm bells and danger signals 
with which gamblers are notified that the police are thun- 
dering at their gates is as complicated and as effective 
as any system can well be. That is why detectives have 
taken to wearing disguises, and why the methods of Old 
Sleuth and Captain Collier, those heroes of dime novels, 
so long scouted by real detectives, have crept into favor. 

In the first place, it must be understood that there is 
gambling in Chicago. Hand books in which bets may 
be made on the races flourish in many places where one 
would not look for them. Craps, poker, roulette and the 
old army game may be interviewed, yet the number of 
good cases made out in court against the well-known 
proprietors of these games is pitifully small. The de- 
tectives have gone into gambling houses, arrested the in- 
mates, and then have come into police courts and have 
been forced to admit that they were unable to present z 
case strong enough to warrant the magistrate in holding 
the prisoners to the grand jury for trial. They have been 
forced to fall back upon the old vagrancy charge. They 
accuse men of vagrancy when they find that the gam- 
bling charges are not well enough sustained. Many men 
wearing the best clothes obtainable and laden with dia- 
monds enough to make a jeweler's window turn green 
with envy have been charged with being vagrants. All 



272 



GAMBLER'S METHOD OF PROTECTION 




273 



of which is set down to the knowledge that the gamblers 
in Chicago have of the usefulness of an electric wire. 

VANISH BEFORE DETECTIVES APPEAR. 

The gambling resorts may be running full blast. The 
play may be heavy, the spectators as great in number as 
those at a fashionable concert, yet when the detectives 
break into the room the men are all there, the apparatus 
is hidden, and the gambling charge must fall flat. Al! 
of the gambling houses whose owners can afford the out- 
lay are provided with a set of danger signals that would 
do credit to a train dispatcher's, office or the main room 
in a telegraph concern. 

It is often necessary to pass two and sometimes three 
lookouts before the main room is reached. But that is 
the easiest part of it. The hardest is to get as far as the 
first lookout without being recognized. The bootblack 
on the corner, the newsboy, the seller of fruit, any or all 
of them may be in the employ of the gambler whose place 
is near. As soon as a suspicious character enters the 
neighborhood and asks to be directed to a place where 
the game is running, or when a detective assigned to 
gambling work heaves in sight, the outside helpers of 
the gamblers become occupied. One will pass the word 
to another, and it is seldom a minute before some one 
has his finger on an electric button. This jars out a 
warning in the gambling room, although the noise is not 
heard by those approaching. On the instant the faro 
table becomes the center of a group of men reading news- 
papers, many times with unusual facility and upside 
down. The other gambling devices become the fields 



*I4k 



iipon which innocent games of pedro and penuchle are ill 
progress, and the detectives pause at the threshold and 
know their labor has been wasted. 

FOOTBOARDS GIVE WARNING. 

But it is not by means of the simple electric bell that 
most of the gamblers find security from unwelcome vis- 
itors. Many of the places are equipped with movabb 
footboards in the hallways. As soon as a foot presses 
on one of these the bell rings and the gamblers are- 
warned. Mirrors showing the street, such mirrors as 
are on every house in Holland, are also used. Men are 
paid well to do nothing except watch the street. 

It is with difficulties like these that the detectives in 
the gambling detail that is attached to Chief O'Neill's 
office have to deal. That is why the gambling detail is 
known as the hardest worked detail on the police force. 
When the duties of many of the other policemen are 
taken in consideration the honor of this reputation is at 
once apparent. Detective John Herts, who, with Cap- 
tain Schuettler, arrested Emma Goldman here; Detec- 
tives Schubert, Sederberg and Walley are the men upon 
whom the weight falls. 

Their work is made all the harder by the fact that 
most of the gamblers know them by sight. The appear- 
ance of any one of them in a gambling neighborhood is 
a signal of danger. Everything that is suspicious is 
whisked out of the way. Often the detectives are shad- 
owed from the office in the City Hall, and their arrival 
at a gambling house is known minutes before it takes 
place. And in this work every minute is worth not sixty 
seconds, but sixty opportunities. 



275 



HAVE TO USE STOOL PIGEONS. 

Knowing as they do that the element of surprise is 
eliminated from the possibilities of their success the de- 
tectives are forced to call in other aids. For instance, 
many times they employ men who are strangers in the 
neighborhood to which they are sent, and through them 
they get an insight into the inner workings of the gam- 
bling house they intend to attack. They may then at- 
tack it with more intelligence. When their employe 
goes to court to testify he finds his testimony partly dis- 
credited because his work was not done as the work of a 
police officer, but as that of an informer, and informers 
get little sympathy or credence in police courts. Each 
court is attended by spies employed by the gamblers. 
They are there in the guise of innocent and disinterested 
spectators, but in reality they have their eyes and ears 
open all the time. They hear the description of the 
means the detectives employed to gain entrance to the 
place, and if the method is a new one they hurry to tell 
their employers, who are then armed against the innova- 
tion. These spies serve another purpose. They get ac- 
curate descriptions of the informers or "stool pigeons" 
of the police, and any informer who again ventures into 
the place which he has betrayed does it at his peril. Of 
course, no foolish attempt is made on his life, but the 
proper way to administer a beating is thoroughly un- 
derstood by the gamblers' assistants. 

Being, as they are, entirely unable to surprise any 
gambler while he is gambling, and being stripped of the 
services of effective ini'on.ners, the detectives must seek 



276 

another way to get arrests that are necessary. Then it is 
that the old game of disguises is used. 

SOMETIMES DON DISGUISES. 

Of course it is understood that not one time in a thou- 
sand does a Chicago detective find it necessary to assume 
a disguise. Outside of Detective John Thompson of the 
Central station the number of officers who have done 
detective work while disguised is larger only than the 
number of hens' teeth. Thompson wore a disguise once 
and the man he "made up" to represent was John Alex- 
ander Dowie. A boy wrote to Dr. Dowie that unless he 
brought $4,000 to the junction of the Chicago & North- 
western railway tracks and Kedzie avenue something 
dreadful would happen. This was just after the Cudahy 
kidnaping in Omaha, and Dr. Dowie turned the threat- 
ening letter over to Captain Colleran. Detective Thomp- 
son denned a long robe and white whiskers and played 
Dr. Dowie long enough to meet the boy and arrest him. 
But that case was a lonely exception. Real detectives 
take a pride in doing work that is entirely different from 
the detective work described by writers of blood and 
thunder detective stories. Detective Wooldridge and 
Detective Schubert of this difficult gambling detail are 
exceptions to that rule. Not because they particularly 
like the role of sensational detectives, but because if they" 
did not occasionally go disguised they would arrest fewer 
gamblers than they do. Detective Schubert's favorite 
disguise is that of a milk man. Wooldridge makes up 
best as a farmer. They change their walks and com- 
pletely change their clothing, and sometimes they elude 



277 



the pickets and the electrical apparatus and sometimes 
they do not. Once when they were successful they got 
into "Pony" Moore's gambling place in Twenty-first 
street, between Dearborn and State streets, but they have 
tried the disguise often since. 

And so it is that when a policeman or a detective is 
asked to name the most difficult work in the province of 
the Chicago Police Department his answer will in all 
probability be, "the arresting and successful prosecution 
of gamblers who know a thing or two about electricity." 

LOTTERIES AND GIFT ENTERPRISES. 

All lotteries are humbugs, no matter how fairly 
managed. Their main object is to make money for 
thejr proprietors, and the pretense of benefiting some 
public or charitable institution is a mere bait. Within 
the recollection of many, lotteries were tolerated, and 
even legalized, in almost every state of the Union, but 
of late years the moral sense of the community has 
demanded that they be suppressed, and now most states 
have laws prohibiting them. The managers of these 
concerns try to dazzle the minds of the people, with the 
hope of getting for $i or $5, a $15,000 prize, also fine 
houses, a farm, carriages, pianos, etc. Only very foolish 
people will invest in lotteries. You are far more in 
danger of being struck by lightning than you are of 
drawing one of the $1,000 or $5,000 or other valuable 
prizes. Never have anything to do with them, whether 
called "Gift Enterprises," "Artists' Unions," "Benev- 
olent Enterprises," "Prize Concerts," "Prize Association," 



278 

'Ticket Sales/' "Grand Gift Concerts," etc. Each and 
all of these affairs, no matter what name they are called, 
or who endorses them, are all detestable, and unworthy 
of the slightest countenance or favor even supposing 
they were conducted legitimately; for every dollar that 
goes to a good object, several other dollars find their way 
into the pockets of the operators — no matter how 
specious their statements and pretences. No matter 
•under what pretence these things are advertised — and 
those cloaked under charitable disguises are more re- 
prehensible than bold and barefaced lotteries — they all 
hold out temptations, that the few may get something 
at the expense of the many. It is gambling in its 
meanest form; and no honorable man, whether he be 
governor, mayor, merchant, or priest, should allow his 
name to be used to promote any such scheme. 



279 



guuimnmmii n uimmmmimi n i 
A Sucker is ooun 
eve»?y =*w*»*& 
secoNP 
iin iimmr 




Mother te OrJy Doing Her Duty. Grin and Bear It, Dad. It 
Will be the Making of You. 



2S0 



HOW EDUCATED CROOKS OPERATE AS ARTISTS— 
AN INTERNATIONAL STORY, 



Three Men Arrested Who Fought Extradition — 
Tragedies at the Trial. 

One of the most interesting criminal cases with which 
the police of any city in the world have been connected 
and which through its ramifications became a question of 
international importance, and went from the police court 
to the United States Commissioner, thence to the District 
Federal Court, and on to the Supreme Court of the 
United States, and finally to the Dominion of Canada, 
is one which Detective Wooldridge and his assistants 
made possible by the arrest of three men said to be the 
most dangerous bank robbers in the country, and whose 
trial in Canada, in June, 1901, was attended with many 
tragedies, resulting in the death of two of the robbers and 
the killing of an officer. 

This case first came before the public in May, 1900, 
and for a period of nearly twelve months following it 
occupied the attention of the press and of the foreign 
consuls of the United States, because of the fact that ex- 
tradition was demanded by the Dominion of Canada of 
three men who were citizens of the United States. The 
final decision of the important question was made on Feb- 
ruary 25, 1901, and it established a precedent which will 
have an important bearing on all similar cases which may 
engage the attention of the courts in the future, or at 
least until there is a change in the existing treaty between 
the United States and Canada. 



281 



The case in question was brought about by the arrest 
on June i, 1900, at the Ashland apartment building, 131 
Ashland avenue, of Fred Lee Rice, Frank Rutledge and 
Thomas Jones, upon a request from Chief of Police Gras- 
sette, of Toronto, to Chief of Police Kipley. 

The following is the telegram received by Chief of 
Police Kipley from the Toronto official, May 23, 1900 : 

"Look out for and arrest four men — Fred L. Rice, 
Frank Rutledge, Thos. Jones — the fourth man's name is 
unknown. On the morning of May 3, 1900, they robbed 
the postoffice and bank at Aurora, some* thirty miles from 
Toronto, securing $700 in currency, $200 worth of 
stamps, and a large assortment of mining stocks, and they 
made an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the safe of the 
bank in Toronto. After assaulting and nearly killing a 
police officer, and stealing a horse and wagon, they drove 
to another town, where their baggage was shipped by 
their friends to 452 Austin avenue, Chicago." 

Chief Kipley at once realized that he had an important 
case on hand, and called in Detective Wooldridge and 
placed him in charge of it, giving him all the information 
he possessed. 

Later in the day a minute description of the men and 
of the baggage was received. Wooldridge was given a 
detail of assistants and at once placed four men on duty 
around the house at 452 Austin avenue with instructions 
to watch for the baggage and arrest the fugitives if they 
put in an appearance. 

All the railroad trains from the east were carefully 
watched by a corps of officers for the purpose of inter- 
cepting the robbers, in case they had not already arrived 



282 



in the city, or of getting the baggage if it had not already 
been received. 

Wooldridge then went to the offices of all the express 
companies in Chicago and secured the assistance of the 
superintendents of each in locating and detaining the 
baggage in the event it should be shipped by express, 
which was most likely. 

In a day or two Wooldridge was notified that the bag- 
gage had arrived at the Dearborn street station over the 
Wabash road. Two detectives were then stationed on 
the inside of the depot and two on the outside with 
bicycles on which they might follow any one who called 
for the baggage, which consisted of three valises. It was 
not supposed that either of the owners of the baggage 
would call in person for it, but that it would be sent for 
and taken to the rooms of the fugitives. 

In the meantime information was received by one of 
the officers on guard at the Austin-avenue house that 
three of the men he was seeking were at that place on 
the evening of May 24. 

Wooldridge got his forces ready and told them to re- 
port at three o'clock the following morning. The fol- 
lowing are the names of those who answered the roll- 
call : William Schubert, W. H. McGrath, J. J. Sullivan.. 
M. F. Farelly, Tim De Roche, Joseph Dubach, Charles 
Niggermeyer, J. O'Hara, William Taylor, P. J. Fitz- 
gerald, Ed. Burns and Ter Issian. 

Wooldridge and all his associates realized that the men 
wanted were dangerous and desperate criminals and that 
their capture would probably expose every one to great 



283 



peril. It was expected they would make a strong resist- 
ance, and even die before submitting to arrest. 

The Austin-avenue house was a two-story structure, 
the ground floor being occupied by a saloon. The living 
apartments above were reached by a long flight of stairs 
which ran up from 
the side, near the 
center. It was by 
means of this stair- 
way that entrance 
must be gained to 
the rooms above ; 
peaceably if possible, 
by force if neces- 
sary. 

Some of the men 
protested against in- 
vading the house in 
this way because of 
the splendid chances 
of getting shot from 
above. 

Detective Woold- 
ridge then stepped 
forward and said he 
would not ask any 

man to go where he was unwilling to go, declaring he 
would lead. 

Detectives Schubert, Sullivan, McGrath and Dubach 
joined him, and the others- surrounded the house. An. 




Fred Lee Rice. 



284 - 

entrance was made easily enough, but when the officers 
got inside, they found that the game had flown. 

Many clews were taken up after this and followed per- 
sistently and relentlessly, but nothing came of them, and 
the detectives met only disappointment. But Wooldridge 
was never discouraged or downcast on account of a fail- 
i i re. He never lagged in his efforts to locate and capture 
the safe-blowers. He kept up the chase vigorously, and 
on May 31 it was discovered that an expressman had car- 
ried the trunks of Fred Lee Rice and Frank Rutledge 
from 1355 Michigan avenue, where they formerly had 
apartments, to another place, and then a search was made 
for the location of their new quarters. 

Nearly every driver of an express wagon on the south 
side was found by Wooldridge and closely questioned 
about these trunks. The search seemed fruitless, but 
there was one driver he had not seen. Officer McGrath 
found the man at 1 1 o'clock at night, and by the free use 
of money got the desired information. He was told by 
this driver that the trunks were taken to 131 Ashland 
avenue, and finally accompanied McGrath to the place, 
which was the Ashland apartment building, located in 
one of the most aristocratic and fashionable residence dis- 
tricts of Chicago. 

On June 1 Detectives Schubert, McGrath, Sullivan, 
Dubach, Burns and Fitzgerald were sent in a body to get 
the men if possible. They waited until late at night in 
order to find the robbers in their rooms asleep. 

The house was kept by Mrs. A. D. Harling, who was 
awakened and told that she had some safe-blowers for 
guests, She readily admitted that the men named by 



285 

the detectives were there, and conducted them to their 
rooms. Here a whispered consultation was held. The 
officers knew they were going to have trouble in making 
(lie arrests if the robbers were given a single opportunity 
to defend themselves or resist. It was a desperate under- 
taking and required great judgment and nerve. 

While they were whispering with Mrs. Harling in the 
hall, they were overheard by Fred Lee Rice. He opened 
the door, evidently expecting that some of his "pals" 
who were out -had just returned. The officers saw him 
as he looked out into the hall and made a rush at him. 
He was knocked heels over head in a corner of the room 
and his revolver and belt of cartridges removed before 
he had time to recover. 

Rutledge and Jones, the other two robbers, were asleep 
in one bed, and near each was lying a huge revolver, 
loaded and ready for use, and two boxes of cartridges. 
The sudden and quick work of the officers prevented diem 
from using their guns. There is little possibility that 
they would ever have been taken alive if they had gotten 
an opportunity to resist the officers. The detectives seized 
the revolvers, then quickly covered the robbers with their 
own revolvers and effected their arrest with neatness and 
despatch. 

It was fortunate that Rice was expecting the fourth 
man in and opened the door. If the officers had been 
compelled to break into the room or to arouse the men, 
some of them would undoubtedly be now sleeping under 
the willow trees of a cemetery. 

The robbers were taken to the Harrison Street Station, 
where their pictures were taken for the rogues' gallery. 



286 



From there they were taken to the.Desplaines Street Sta- 
tion. 

Knowing full well that his prisoners were shrewd 
criminals and men who would use all the resources at 
their command to get out of the clutches of the police, 
Detective Wooldridge adopted a plan which was really 
the most important move taken in the whole case. On 
June 2 he went before United States Commissioner Mark 
A. Foote and secured on belief and information a fugi- 
tive warrant, which he placed in the hands of United 
States Marshal George Allen. The three prisoners were 
then released by the police, but before they could leave 
the station, they were arrested by the United States Mar- 
shal. 

They were taken before the commissioner for a hear- 
ing and the case continued from time to time until 
July 10. 

The prisoners employed S. H. Trude, and then began 
a desperate legal fight to resist extradition to Canada. 
The Canadian Government, by William Wyndham, the 
British consul, had made application for extradition. At- 
torney Lynden Evans represented the consul at a hearing 
before the United States commissioner, who held the 
prisoners and recommended that President McKinley 
issue the extradition warrant. 

Then the prisoners applied for a writ of habeas corpus 
before Judge Kohlsaat. This stayed the President's war- 
rant. After a hearing Judge Kohlsaat dismissed the 
writ. From this decision an appeal was taken to the 
United States Supreme Court. This highest court af- 
firmed the decision of Judge Kohlsaat, denying the writ. 



287 

The case attracted widespread notice among the law- 
yers and students of constitutional rights. The points 
brought up in their attempt to resist extradition were 
numerous, the Jour important ones being: 

i. It was claimed that all United States citizens were 
entitled to bail, and this was denied the prisoners below. 
The Supreme Court approved the denial. 

2. It was claimed that the treaty with Great Britain 
on extradition and acts of congress on extradition are 
unconstitutional because they do not guarantee jury trial 
to the prisoners deported as would be their right in the 
United States. This claim the Supreme Court disap- 
proved. 

3. It was claimed the treaty on extradition contra- 
venes the Illinois Constitution in the above points. 

4. It was claimed that the words "surrendering state" 
used in the treaty referred in this case to Illinois and not 
to the United States. 

The further contention was made that the commis- 
sioner who heard the cases had received them on infor- 
mation and belief, and that this proceeding was not jus- 
tifiable in an extradition case. Regarding the point, Jus- 
tice Brown said : "If the officer of the foreign govern- 
ment has no personal knowledge of the facts, he may 
with entire propriety make a complaint upon information 
and belief, stating the sources of his information and the 
grounds of his belief, and annexing to the complaint a 
properly certified copy of any indictment or equivalent 
proceedings which may be found in the foreign court, 
or a copy of the depositions of witnesses having actual 
knowledge of the facts." 



288 



That ended the fight against extradition. In due course 
the court's mandate reached Chicago and the prisoners 
were taken to Canada. Their first trial began in To- 
ronto on May 20. This was on a charge of robbing the 
bank at Aurora. By the use of money friends' of the 

prisoners succeeded 
in getting enough 
men on the jury 
who were favorable 
to the defendants, 
to prevent an agree- 
ment as to a verdict 
and this jury was 
discharged, the rob- 
bers getting another 
trial. 

This was begun 
on May 27. De- 
fendants had entered 
a plea of guilty on 
four minor charges, 
that of attempting 
to rob the Standard 
Bank of Toronto, 
robbing the post- 
office at Aurora, 
horse stealing and stealing a revolver from an officer. 
Detectives Schubert and McGrath of Chicago were 
summoned to Toronto as witnesses to testify as to the 
contents found in the trunks %when the men were arrested 
on Ashland avenue. The second trial progressed rap- 




Frank Rutledge. 



239 



idly, and on June 4, when the case was nearing an end 
and the prisoners saw conviction staring them in the face, 
they made a desperate effort to escape, which resulted in 
the death of two of them and of an officer who had them 
in charge. 

Late that afternoon they were handcuffed together and 
placed in a carriage to be taken back to jail. Jones, who 
was considered the most desperate man of the three, had 
handcuffs on both wrists, while Rice, who is left-handed, 
was placed on his right, and Rutledge on the left. This 
put both of Jones' hands out of use and left Rutledge 
with the use of his left hand only, and Rice with his 
right hand. 

This precaution was taken because the officers sus- 
pected that a plot had been formed to reccue the pris- 
oners. They were placed on the rear seat cf the carriage, 
while Constables Boyd and Stewart sat opposite them on 
the front seat. Another constable, Bogart, took a seat 
on the box with the driver, and the carriage started for 
the jail. When it reached the corner of Sumach and 
Gerrard streets, a young woman dressed in man's cloth- 
ing rushed to the side of the vehicle and threw a hat into 
the laps of the prisoners. Instantly the two free hands 
belonging to Rutledge and Rice plunged into the hat and 
drew out two long revolvers. 

Quick as a flash Rice fired, and Constable Boyd, who 
had started to seize him, fell back dying. Constable 
Stewart, who was the only one of the three officers t'.at 
had a revolver, reached back for his weapon, but Rice 
pushed his gun into his face and he remained quiet, tell- 
ing them to get out of the carriage. 



290 



The horses then stopped and the three men sprang 
out, Rutledge first, dragging the others behind him. 
After leaving the carriage they fired into it several times 
while running away. Constable Stewart returned the 
fire and shot Jones in the arm, shattering the bone. 

Then he jumped 
from the vehicle and 
fired again, the sec- 
ond shot striking 
Jones in the groin. 
An electric street car 
which the carriage 
had passed was ap- 
proaching, and 
Jones, who was so 
badly hurt that he 
could scarcely walk, 
was dragged by his 
companions onto the 
front platform of 
the car, which had 
stopped on account 
of the shooting. 
Then followed a 
desperate fight for 
possession of the 
car. Constable Bogart had jumped off the box seat 
of the vehicle, and although unarmed, was making his 
way towards the car. The prisoners fired at him and 
missed. 

Stewart rushed bravely in pursuit of the fleeing men, 




Thomas Jones. 



251 



firing as he went. He had emptied his own revolver 
when he reached the car, and threw, himself on Rice and 
Rutledge and wrenched their revolvers from them. Then 
he beat them over their heads until they gave up. They 
were bleeding freely from scalp wounds, and by this time 
were exhausted and 
unable to offer fur- 
ther resistance. 

The motorman 
held on to the motor 
crank and the con- 
ductor pulled the 
trolley off the feed 
wire during the 
struggle, to prevent 
the robbers from 
starting the car in 
case they had gotten 
possession of the 
crank, which was 
their intention. 

Jones was in 
great agony and 
cried out to the 
officers to take the 
handcuffs off his 
wrists. The bone in the arm had been shattered by the 
bullet fired by Stewart, and in the hand-to-hand strug- 
gle the arm had been twisted out of shape. With the 
three prisoners lying almost in a heap on the floor 
in the car and the officers standing over them, the 




Frank Stewart, alias Gannon. 



292 




THE ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE IN TORONTO. 



29:-* 



current was turned on and they were conveyed to the 
jail. Upon their arival there the jail physician as- 
sisted by two other medical men, attended them. They, 
found that Jones was mortally wounded, but they made 
him as comfortable as possible, and he soon went to sleep 
under the influence of opiates. 

They dressed the wounds which Rice had received on 
his head, and also the scalp wounds which Rutledge bore. 
Rice was quite calm and told the surgeon to be sure and 
remove all the blood from his hair. 

Constable Boyd was driven to the hospital in the car- 
riage in which he was shot, but never recovered con- 
sciousness and died a few hours afterwards. 

If the prisoners had not lost their heads when they first 
got possession of the pistols in the carriage they could 
easily have escaped. They had shot and mortally wound- 
ed Constable Boyd, who was a gray-haired man, sixty 
years old. The only other constable who had a revolver 
was Stewart, and Rice and Rutledge had him covered 
with their guns. In his pockets were the keys which un- 
locked the handcuffs. They could easily have gotten 
these and also Stewart's, gun, then released themselves 
from the handcuffs and have been masters of the situa- 
tion. They then could have made their escape in the car- 
riage which was taking them to jail. 

But in the excitement they overlooked the opportunity. 
It was a fatal mistake for them and one which greatly 
surprised the officers. It was astonishing that three as 
shrewd and desperate men as Rice, Rutledge and Jones 
were could lose their heads in such a crisis as this, and 
it caused a great deal of comment in police circles, 



294 



The prosecution decided that the trial should proceed 
against Rice and Rutledge whether Jones was present or 
not. The shooting took place on Tuesday and Jones died 
on Wednesday morning. The trial proceeded, and on 
Friday, June 7, the jury returned a verdict of guilty 
against the prisoners, and they were sentenced to twenty- 
one years each in the penitentiary. When they were ar- 
raigned to received sentence, the judge said to them : 

"Have you anything to say why the sentence should 
not be passed upon you ?" They stood quietly, never re- 
moving their eyes from the judge's face. Rutledge's 
hands rested on the railing in front of him, while Rice 
stood erect 'with his arms crossed over his breast. They 
never flinched and did not move a muscle while the heavy 
sentence was being pronounced. 

In answer to the judge's question, Rice simply shook 
his head, while Rutledge replied, "Nothing, nothing." 
Then the sentence was delivered as follows : 

"This is a peaceable country, but you came here bent 
upon a career of crime. You have followed your unlaw- 
ful purposes by committing three serious offenses against 
the law. The country has enough of trouble and expense 
tp take care of its own criminals and cannot do anything 
to encourage criminals from foreign countries, to come 
here and pursue their depredations. The sentence of the 
court upon you, Frank Rutledge, and upon you, Fred 
Lee Rice, is that each of you be confined in the Kingston 
penitentiary for the term of fourteen years for the rob- 
bery of the bank, and seven years for stealing the horse, 
cart and harness ; the seven years to be consecutive with 
the fourteen years ; for the robbery of the postoffic^, seven 



295 



years to be concurrent with the stealing, sentence, making 
for each of you a sentence of twenty-one years." 

Deathly pale, but as calm apparently as if they had not 
faced the court, they were taken to the jail and consigned 
to their cells. Soon after dinner they were taken to the 
corridor on the first floor for exercise and air. After 
walking for a short time, Rutledge dashed away from his 
guard, up the stairway to the second-story balcony. It 
was thought that he intended to make an effort to escape 
through the ventilator, but he was met by guards and 
turned back. With a defiant look he backed toward the 
railing which surrounded the balcony, and straightening 
himself up, leaped backward over the railing and fell to 
the. stone-paved floor thirty-six feet below, striking on his 
head and crushing his skull. When the guard reached 
him he was unconscious and died in half an hour without 
speaking. 

This left only one of the three safe-blowers, Fred Lee 
Rice, and he had become a murderer, as Constable Stew- 
art swore that it was Rice who shot and killed Constable 
Boyd. The next day Rice was arraigned on a charge of 
murder and the case was postponed until September. In 
the meantime the sentence of twenty-one years in prison 
hung over him. 

Rutledge first came into prominence in the cities of 
Kingston, Hamilton, Brantford and Montreal, Canada. 
He was a burglar and a particularly daring one. He 
seemed to have great success in getting away with the 
results of his plundering, and until June 15, 1889, ne was 
never brought into custody with a definite charge against 
him. On that day he was arrested for burglary, and 



296 



after a trial at Kingston, was found guilty and sentenced 
to five years in the penitentiary. 

Rutledge remained in prison until late in 1894, or early- 
in 1895.^ On gaining his freedom he visited Colorado, 
and while in that state was arrested for larceny, con- 
victed, and in November, 1895, was given a six years' 
sentence and ordered confined at Canon City. He en- 
tered that city a desperate man, a criminal posted in all 
the technique of his vocation. 

He not only knew how to live well without labor when 
not in prison, but how, after being confined, to hold free 
conversations with his fellow convicts without being de- 
tected by a warden or guard. This latter ability is what 
brought him in contact with Jones. Jones graduated 
'from the Chicago circle of thieves prominent in the city 
between 1892 and 1893. The World's Fair brought many 
of them in, and Jones did so well in their company that 
he became bold. 

On March 20, 1893, in company with "J ac k" Murphy, 
he held up one John Howe of 2810 Ninety-third street. 
Jones and Murphy were both armed and fired shots at 
Howe. They took his watch and chain, but were cap- 
tured by Officers Brown and Peters, locked up in the 
county jail, kept there several months, and then tried and 
acquitted. The county official and police official who 
aided them in escaping punishment are still living. Jones 
is supposed to have paid $5,000 for his freedom at this 
time. 

On July 4, 1893, Jones, with "Jmi" Kavanagh, held up 
Sylvester Johnson of 7944 Ontario avenue, and stole his 
watch, chain and some money. The same day they en- 



297 



tered the Collins home on Ontario avenue, near Eight- 
eenth street, and choked Collins, but did not rob him. 
But on July 6 they returned to the same house with burg- 
lars' tools and were captured by Officer Robinson while 
in the act of robbing the house. 

The case against them was finally stricken off the cal- 
endar, and they were never tried, but it is said to have 
cost Jones another $5,000 to "fix" certain officials so that 
he might have his freedom. 

Jones now found Chicago uncomfortable for him, so he 
journeyed to Colorado and allied himself with the Indian 
gang in Pueblo. On December 17, 1893, he was arrested 
for safe-blowing, and on March 23, 1894, was sentenced 
to nine years in the penitentiary at Canon City. There 
he met Rutledge, and in convict fashion, they held many 
conversations together and formed an alliance for oper- 
ation in the days to come when they should have free- 
dom. 

While they were so planning there arrived at the Col- 
orado penitentiary Fred Lee Rice, alias Harris. He was 
sentenced on September 27, 1897, ^ or f° r & er y> an d had 
a three years' term to serve. He was only twenty-one 
years old then, but bold and eager for criminal adven- 
ture. Rutledge and Jones took him into their prison 
"brotherhood, and he swore fidelity to them, when they all 
should have their freedom again. Between October, 
1899, and April, 1900, the trio came out of Canon City 
penitentiary free men. 

As each man gained his discharge he came to Chicago 
until the trio were together and were joined by Frank 
Stewart, alias Gannon. Gannon took agreeably to Rut- 



298 



ledge and Rice, and the four took rooms on Ashland 
avenue, where all but Gannon passed as artists, photog- 
raphers and literary gentlemen. 

During the year of 1900 Gannon was killed. He en- 
tered the Garfield Park pavilion at Hamlin avenue and 
West Madison street, and in an attempt to hold up the 
bartender and Frank Barum, an attorney, was shot dead. 
This greatly affected Jones, and taking Rice and Rut- 
ledge with him, he temporarily abandoned Chicago and 
sought the East. Rutledge persuaded him to visit Can- 
ada with him, and the trio entered Ontario. Among the 
other places, they visited the town of Aurora and robbed 
the bank there, made their escape to this country and 
immediately returned to Chicago. 

One very interesting chapter in the lives of Rutledge 
and Jones is furnished in their attempt in May, 1900, to 
rob the Standard Bank in Toronto. At two o'clock one 
morning Officer Wood, of the Toronto police force, saw 
two men standing at the rear of the bank on Elmwood 
Grove avenue. He approached the men and asked them 
what they were doing there at that hour. 

Before he got a reply a revolver was placed against 
the back of his head by a third man, and he was ordered 
to throw up his hands. He saw that it would be folly 
to resist and promptly obeyed the command. The men 
then took the officer's revolver and bound his hands with 
a piece of wire. He was then taken across the street to 
a stable, where one man stood guard over him, while the 
other two forced an entrance to the bank and were pre- 
paring to blow open the safe, but were frightened away 
before they had accomplished their purpose. 



299 



The Kjnd of "Holdup'* We fieed! 




300 



After the arrest of Rice, Rutledge and Jones and their 
removal to Toronto, the first two were identified by Of- 
ficer Wood as the men he saw trying to rob the Standard 
Bank. 

There is a romantic side to this story which is as inter- 
esting as the criminal side of it. Rice, Rutledge and Jones 
were w r ell educated men and had many accomplishments 
beside those of safe-blowing and robbery. Rice is a na- 
tive of Champaign, Illinois; his father being a wealthy 
and highly respected farmer living near that place and a 
heavy stockholder in one of the local banks. Young Rice 
was at one time a clerk in this bank. 

Before this he was a student of the University of Illi- 
nois and a prominent fraternity man. He left his native 
town in 1897, and has been there only once since on a 
short visit. Rutledge was an artist and a poet. He could 
paint, and painted well. Jones made nearly as good an 
impression as the other two men, although to the trained 
eye he would be more quickly suspected of being a crim- 
inal than either. They had many well-known business 
men in Chicago for acquaintances. 

All three of them dressed expensively. They wore the 
most fashionable tailor-made clothes and adorned them- 
selves with fine and expensive jewelry. They rode in 
automobiles, gave swell dinners to their friends and spent 
money with a lavish hand. They rented rooms on Mich- 
igan avenue, where they furnished an atelier in luxurious 
style and set themselves up as artists. They then adver- 
tised for models, and by this means became acquainted 
with Myrtle Norrie and Martha Dwyer. 

The former lived with her parents on Forty-second 



301 



court and was employed at that time by the Siemens & 
Halske Electric Co. Martha Dwyer lived at 324 Morgan 
street and was an operator in the main office of the Chi- 
cago Telephone Company. Both were attractive and 
handsome young women. They visited the studio of 
Rice, Rutledge and Jones and posed for Rutledge, who 
made hundreds of drawings that would do credit to a 
professional in that line. Rutledge and Rice became very 
devoted to the voung women and soon won their hearts 
by buying for them many valuable presents of jewelry 
and by giving them untiring and devoted attention. A 
proposal of marriage was made and a double wedding, 
fashionable in every detail, was planned, the girls stating 
that they looked forward joyously to the time when they 
would no longer be compelled to work for a paltry salary, 
but instead would be the wives of prosperous business 
men. 

These two girls, however, were not the only female 
acquaintances on the visiting list of Rutledge and Rice. 
They knew many others and spent most of their time 
visiting, driving and dining with their lady friends. They 
played the society game to the limit during the day and 
early part of the evening and late at night changed their 
attire and committed robbery on an extensive scale. 

Even after they were arrested many of the women 
whom they had met refused to believe in their guilt, and 
during the time they were in jail in Chicago these women 
sought every opportunity they could invent for the pur- 
pose of seeing the men. Once when the robbers were 
arraigned in the commissioner's court, Myrtle Norrie en- 
tered dressed in deep mourning with her face partly cov- 



302 



ered with a heavy veil. She watched every movement of 
Rutledge as he sat in the prisoner's cage with Rice and 
Jones. 

"Nothing can convince me that Frank is guilty," said 
Miss Morrie. "I love him yet and can never be con- 
vinced that he is as black as he is painted. They lie when 
they say that he served a sentence in Canon City for safe- 
blowing. I know that he never lived there." 

Then she wept and her face flushed angrily. She 
seemed much concerned over the visit of two other mys- 
terious girls who had called to see the prisoners. She 
looked daggers at them, though they did not seem to be 
frightened and left word that they w T ould call at the 
county jail to see the prisoners. 

During the time the bank robbers were making their 
efforts to escape extradition, they were in the custody of 
the Cook county authorities and extraordinary precau- 
tions were taken to prevent their escape. They had many 
shrewd friends, who were continuously planning a 
method for their escape. They watched and were per- 
fectly familiar with every move made by the authorities 
and with every action made by the court. Some of these 
friends were always in the vicinity of the jail and the 
court room. On one occasion a revolver was found in 
a bowl of soup, which had been sent to the prisoners by 
an outsider. After this, the officers searched their cells 
and found another revolver. This was prior to the time 
when they were to be taken to the court from the jail 
and thence to Canada. On another occasion Jones at- 
tempted to take from the pocket of a United States Mar- 
shal, while in the prisoner's cage in the United States 



303 



commissioner's room, a revolver, but was seen just in 
time to prevent it. At another time an effort was made, 
while the prisoners were being taken to the District Fed- 
eral Court, to escape from one of the elevators in the 
Monadnock building- A strong force of officers was 
always with them, however, and had to be unusually 
watchful at all times. The friends of these desperate men 
included both sexes. Just before they were taken to 
Canada, a woman sent them a box of the finest imported 
cigars that could be bought. They also received a bottle 
of fine whiskey. These presents were confiscated by the 
officers and upon analysis were found to contain power- 
ful narcotics. It was supposed that the prisoners in- 
tended to treat their guards while on the way to Canada, 
with the cigars and whiskey, and if they had induced 
them to partake of their hospitality, the prisoners would, 
while their guards were under the influence of the nar- 
cotics, have attempted to make their escape. 

On the very day of their departure for Canada a very 
exciting incident took place which went to show how 
thoroughly posted the friends of these prisoners were. 
Early that morning the detectives went to the Cook 
county jail in a patrol wagon to convey the robbers to 
the Federal Court for the purpose of getting the order 
for their transfer to the Canadian authorities. Three 
cabs stood on the street in the vicinity of the jail, and in 
each was a woman, who was a friend of the prisoners. 
The patrol wagon was driven as rapidly as possible to 
the Monadnock building in which the Federal Court was 
held, yet the women in the cabs arrived there as promptly 
as the wagon. 



304 

While the order was being obtained the detectives gave 
it out that the men would be taken to the Michigan Cen- 
tral depot to catch the train at n o'clock for their trip 
to Canada, while, in fact, the train which was to take 
them away did not leave until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 
This did not deceive the women friends of the prisoners, 
however, nor did they get lost from the patrol wagon in 
the circuitous route it pursued in re-taking the prisoners 
to the Harrison Street Station. They were driven 
through several streets and alleys, the wagon winding 
about and turning in opposite directions a number of 
times ; yet ; when the wagon reached the Harrison Street 
Station, the three cabs with the three women were on 
hand. 

-They stayed in the vicinity of the station all day, but 
were closely watched by the police officers to preven" 
them from communicating with the prisoners. Just be- 
fore 4 o'clock in the afternoon the three men were 
brought from their cells to be taken to the depot on Polk 
street. Suddenly the three women appeared, and just as 
they were going to make an attempt to reach the pris- 
oners, a half dozen police seized them and held them at 
the Harrison Street Station until the men were safely 
aboard the train and far away from Chicago. 

When the trunks of Rice, Rutledge and Jones were 
searched the officers found some interesting articles. 
There were several letters written by Miss Norrie to Rut- 
ledge. A photograph of her was also found in the trunk, 
with her name written on the back of it. Among other 
contents was a leather-bound Bible, on the title page of 
which was written, "Presented to Fred by his mother." 



305 



The officers also found much fine wearing apparel, in- 
cluding a full dress suit of London make, white kid 
gloves, silk vests, duck suits, silk socks and a dozen 
tailor-made suits. They also found an electrical appli- 
ance which is a modern invention for the opening of safes 
and which can be used only in towns where electricity 
is used for lighting. 

There were also a number of valuable trinkets of va- 
rious descriptions in the trunk, which was supposed to be 
the plunder of burglaries. The police recovered a mem- 
oranda book containing the names of fifty Canadian 
towns with a description of each place, naming the num- 
ber of banks, number of safes, the population, and the 
times of the arrival and departure of trains. 

When Gannon, one of the members of the gang, was 
shot and killed on the west side, the police found on him 
a card with Rice's name on it. The card showed that 
Rice was stopping at the Great Northern Hotel, and when 
the detectives shadowed him there, they found that he 
was in company with some of the best-known business 
men of Chicago. 

When he was questioned, he gave references, naming 
people who were prominent in the social and business 
world of Chicago and Champaign, Illinois. He declared 
that he could not understand how Gannon got possession 
of his card. The references he gave completely con- 
vinced the police, for a time at least, that he was a busi- 
ness man with good connections and that there was no 
reason for suspecting him of having any relations with 
Gannon, the dead robber. 

While the detectives were shadowing Rutledge, he fre- 



306 



quently acted in such a straightforward way that they 
hesitated to arrest him. On one occasion when they were 
following him, he went into the residence of a prominent 
and well-known citizen, where it was found that he was 
a welcome visitor and had an intimate acquaintance with 
members of the family. Both would be frequently seen 
around the most prominent hotels of Chicago in company 
with Chicago business men of high standing in the finan- 
cial and social world. They were for a long time a 
Chinese puzzle to the officers of the law, and it was not 
until they had been captured in the Ashland-avenue 
apartment building and their trunks searched that the 
mystery of their identity was disclosed. 

It was an interesting case of pursuit and capture for 
the detectives. In the solution of what seemed at one 
time almost an impenetrable barrier as to the identity 
and occupation of these three clever criminals, the detec- 
tives found that they had an undertaking of more than 
ordinary importance. 

But they succeeded, one clew following another, one 
event in the lives of the men leading to another, all of 
which made a complete chain of evidence, which has 
finally been their complete undoing and has ridden the 
country of a gang of the cleverest safe-blowers and bank- 
robbers that ever operated in the United States or any 
other country. 

With their unlimited number of acquaintances and 
friends, they had formed an almost impassable barrier to 
the assaults of officers of the law. Always well supplied 
with money, which they secured by robbery and theft, 
they were enabled at all times to make a strong fight 



307 



against every effort that was made to convict them of 
their crimes, and were as far above the ordinary criminal 
in intelligence and shrewdness as the "get-rich-quick" 
schemer is above the hold-up man of the levee. 

The story of their crimes, their arrest and conviction 
and the tragical end of two of them forms a chapter in 
the history of the world that will forever furnish to the 
student of criminology a subject of deep interest. 

Canadian criminal cases are conducted very differently 
from similar cases in the United States. They are heard 
by a police commissioner who sits in a sanctum, clothed 
in somber robes, looking as austere as the Chief Justice 
of the United States Supreme Court. 

This august authority paid a very high compliment to 
Detectives Schubert and McGrath, the Chicago officers, 
who went to Toronto to testify against the bank robbers. 
During the progress of the trial he called them to the 
bench and personally complimented them upon the work 
they did in the case. After this he called them into his 
private chamber and had a long and pleasant talk with 
them. 

He made many inquiries as to the methods employed 
in Chicago and other cities in the prosecution of criminal 
cases. He again complimented them on their work in 
the case and thanked them very heartily for what they 
did in bringing the criminals to justice. This was con- 
sidered in Toronto a very high mark of confidence upon 
the part of the judge who conducted the case. As a fur- 
ther evidence of appreciation on the part of the Canadian 
authorities of the work done by the Chicago Police De- 
partment in bringing these three criminals to justice, the 



308 



following letter was sent to the General Superintendent 
of Police in Chicago by the Crown Attorney : 

NATIONAL TRUST BUILDING, 
20 King Street. 
East Toronto, June 10, 1901. 
Francis O'Neill, Esq., 

Chief of Police, Chicago. 
Dear Sir: — I desire to thank you for the exceedingly 
valuable assistance you have rendered the interests of 
justice in the arrest of Fred Lee Rice, Frank Rutledge 
and Thomas Jones, and in allowing Detectives Schubert 
and McGrath to come to Toronto and testify on the 
charges against these men. The evidence submitted by 
your detectives was very material, and they are to be 
congratulated, not only upon this evidence, but the splen- 
did impression they made upon the court and jury. The 
case was one of great importance to us, as you well know, 
and I need scarcely assure you that, apart from the of- 
ficers of our police court, who are always glad to recip- 
rocate favors, I shall personally be only too glad to assist 
you at any time in any matter in which we can be of 
service to you. Believe me to be 

Yours faithfully, 

H. H. Dew art, 
Crown Attorney, County of York. 

Fred Lee Rice was tried for the murder of Constable 
Boyd. The first jury disagreed, and he was tried the sec- 
ond time and convicted and sentenced to be hung, which 
was done several months after the trial. 



HONESTY IS NOT MACHINE MADE. 



Business-Men Place Little Dependence Upon Modern 
Artificial Devices. 

Honesty in the young man who is making a start 
in this world of strenuous living is just as much an 
asset as ever it was in the past. 

Surety companies are acting as bondsmen for in- 
creasing thousands of young men every year. 

The cash register has become as much one of the 
fixtures of the small retail house as ever a showcase 
was or is. 

Sales inspectors have multiplied into legions in the 
great retail horses and department stores of the cities. 

Time clocks in half a dozen patterns are turned cut 
of factories by the "tens of thousands every year. 

"The auditor," traveling and stationary, is one of 
the ogres of modern business life. 

NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HONESTY. 

But in spite of all precautionary devices, methods, 
and systems, honesty still is the best policy in the 
young man who is searching for a salaried position of 
trust. No substitute has been found for the virtue. No 
mechanical means has been perfected for making up for 
the lack of honesty in the individual. A surety company 
may be on the young man's bond; a time clock may 
register to a second the hours of his coming and going ; 
a cash register may account for his sales, or an in- 
spector or auditor may be always at his elbow. But 

309 



310 



if the face on the man,, in regard to openness of counte- 
nance, frankness, and general good features, should not 
come up to the standard of his employer's ideals, his 
position is insecure and his chances in the struggle for 
an honest existence are discounted. 

"Waiving all possibilities of bond giving," said one 
of the heads of the Continental National Bank, "the 
applicant for a position here who cannot show credentials 
in his face and manner has no show. We have some 
readers of character here. Bonds in a surety company 
mean something, but a young man's face means quite as 
much. As between two young men, one of whom is 
quick, active, shrewd, and adaptable, yet with that hid- 
den something in his face that challenges confidence, 
and that other young man with honesty in his face, 
but with some of the earmarks of the plodder in him, 
we have no hesitation in a choice. We take the honest 
man. No surety company could make good the dis- 
crepancy that exists between two such men." 

CASH REGISTER ONLY AN AID. 

"The cash register?" repeated the proprietor of a 
retail house in Madison street. 

"One half-sentence in the Lord's Prayer defines its 
sociological position: 'Lead us not into temptation.' 

"I believe that my men are honest. I wouldn't have 
hired one of them if I had not been reasonably sure 
of the belief. But there is a great measure of truth in 
the aphorism that 'opportunity makes the thief.' A 
man may be honest and yet weak. Why should I leave 
an unnecessary temptation in 4he way of any man? If 



311 



a man who is honest in widest measure comes to me 
for a position he finds a cash register as an office 
fixture. It is a convenient place for money. It is here 
when he comes and it is no reflection upon his character. 
But in time of possible temptation it becomes a stay 
to his instability." 

TIME CLOCK TOO MECHANICAL. 

"As to the time-clock," said the timekeeper of a great 
wholesale house in Adams street, which numbers its 
employes by hundreds, "the clock has a feature that on 
the face of it is bad. If a man comes in at 8 o'clock 
in the morning, takes one hour for noon, and remains 
till 5 :.30 in the evening, these facts cannot show whether 
in those hours he has done his whole duty. And just 
there is the possibility that a certain class of men who, 
left to themselves, would be conscientiously exact in 
their duties are impelled to shirk when occasion offers. 

"But, after all, timekeeping is a recognized necessity 
in any business. If an employer has three men and has 
a fixed number of hours in which they shall work, every 
man so employed knows that he is under the super- 
vision of his employer. However, if the employer has 
3,000 men he cannot keep track of the time; his heads 
of departments can't; no reasonable number of time- 
keepers can do so. Not only a time-clock but clocks 
by the dozen are necessary, for the most conscientious 
individual knows that in the great masses of men is a 
large element which must be watched and supervised 
in order to keep it up to the scratch of effectiveness. 
Three thousand men coming to work on an average of 



312 



only two minutes late for one day would mean the loss 
of more than twelve working days to the employer. 

DOES EVEN JUSTICE TO ALL. 

"The time-clock has been accepted, however. When 
they were first introduced in this house many old em- 
ployes protested. The facts were made plain to them, 
however. Employes here are going out to luncheon, 
for instance, from 1 1 130 a. m. to 1 130 p. m. No reason- 
able number of timekeepers could keep the necessary 
check on these people. Everybody but the heads of 
the departments turns the clock now. But even with 
the system's temptation to 'soldiering' there is no sub- 
stitute for it. The clock may make it a little easier 
for the comparatively untrustworthy man to compete 
in the labor market with the honest man, but the clock 
can go no further than to record comings and goings ; 
all the rest is left to the men, and the square man al- 
ways has the bulge." 

As to the honest man who is sure of himself in present, 
past, and future, the surety company and the surety 
bond work a small hardship upon him, in that he has 
to give the same bond that his co-workers give, and 
has to pay the same yearly premium for it. Beyond 
this he is not affected. 

"In no possible way except this does the surety com- 
pany militate against the honest man in favor of one 
who has more lax principles," said William B. Joyce, 
agent for one of the great surety companies of the 
country. 



313 



SEARCHING INVESTIGATION MADE. 

"When it comes to investigating a man's character 
we do it more thoroughly and impartially than any one 
employer or firm could do. We go beyond his birth, 
even asking as to his father, mother, and antecedents 
generally. We know where he was born and when, 
how far he is educated, where and how long he has 
worked, whether or not he is married, and whether or 
not he owns his own home ; his habits of life are closely 
scheduled and he must give us five references as to 
the truth of these general statements. 

"Then we are ready to investigate thoroughly. Just 
how thoroughly may be indicated in the fact that of 
the 240,000 persons now under bond by this company 
not one-tenth of 1 per cent of them go wrong in a cold- 
blooded, wilful way. 

"Most of the losses which we have to make good come 
from weak men. They are honest in their own hearts. 
But some emergency arises whereby they need $50, 
perhaps. Some one dear to them may be sick. Such 
a man takes, the money and carries a cash slip, perhaps, 
looking to some possibility ahead to square him. That 
fails him, his needs increase, and he takes $50 or $100 
or $200 more until something else 'turns up.' Mean- 
while, to cover this, he makes a false entry in his 
books. Suddenly the auditor comes in on him, the 
'shortage' is discovered and the man is held up as a 
criminal. 

PERCENTAGE OF DISHONESTY SMALL. 

"It is admitted that in assuming security for the 
honesty of ten men for a bank, for instance, these ten 



314 



men, after being accepted, could be lined up and a 
character reader be able to put a finger, in a moment, 
upon the most and least trustworthy of these eligibles. 
But in our experience, the exceedingly small per cent 
of dishonesty in young men of today makes the value of 
such selection hardly more than nominal. 

"At the same time, 'shortages' in accounts form a 
considerable element of the news of the world, and yet 
not half of these shortages are discovered. More than 
half of these delinquencies are made good before they 
are uncovered. 

"I believe that the world generally is growing better. 
If men should be found showing less regard for honesty, 
however, I should have to insist that nothing in the 
work of the surety companies had contributed to it/' 



315 




A Bere Escape, 



WOMEN AS GRAFTERS. 



In the World of Graft the Gentler Sex Shows Greater 
Polish and More Far-sightedness — Fake Charity 
Workers, Fake Nuns, Fake Female Preach- 
ers and Flighty Financiers. — How 
They Get the Money, 

When the subtle intellect of woman is behind a scheme 
to defraud invariably is it found that the proposition is 
a deep one; well planned, solid looking, plausible in the 
extreme and directed with an attention to detail more 
likely to deceive persons of intelligence than the coarse 
conspiracies of men. 

Seldom does the feminine grafter travel in flocks. Un- 
like her brothers in crime, the woman who seeks to gull 
the public prefers to do the fine work herself; to hazard 
her body and soul in the game and play it to the limit, 
even though the strenuous application necessary to con- 
summate her scheme entails physical sacrifice. 

She will work night and day to make her project ap- 
pear righteous. Her intuitive sense that the accomplish- 
ment of this end constitutes the very corner stone of 
successful swindling leads to success. Contrary to popu- 
lar impression the woman swindler does not defraud 
by wiles and smiles, coquetry and conquest. 

She endeavors to surround her enterprise with a man- 
tle of righteousness, guilelessness and noble sincerity,, 
which excludes skepticism from the minds of those with 

316 



317 



whom she deals. Thus at the start she rids herself of the 
necessity, faced by her male brethren "from the jump," 
of spending the major portion of her time concocting 
blandishments to overcome unbelief. She plays upon 
the finer sensibilities of men and women, appeals to the 
better side of human nature. And last but not least, 
where is the woman swindler who has not "stood pat" 
when accused, assuming the role of persecuted inno- 
cence? Few whose deeds have sent their photographs 
to the engraving rooms of newspapers in the hour of 
denouement have not been surrounded by at least a por- 
tion of their dupes who characterized the prosecution as 
"outrageous" and publicly offered moral and financial 
assistance to "the ill-treated lady." 

Many such women have felt the hand of the law in 
Chicago, but the "neatest" worker of them all was Mrs. 
Violet Jessie Sherbondy, of "Sunnyside Society" fame, 
who, in the name of God, humanity and the helpless 
children of the tenements, grafted an estimated average 
of $100 a day from charitably inclined people in Chicago 
and its suburbs. 

Mrs. Sherbondy was young and good to look upon. 
Her face inspired confidence, her manner won esteem. 
She possessed a substitute for culture. It passed for the 
real article. She was a ready- writer and her children's 
stories and verses were marvels, as the work of a pro- 
fessional confidence woman. When dilating upon her 
"life work" in her "chosen field of charity" Mrs. Sher- 
bondy's sweetly innocent face was illuminated with ma- 
ternal love. Her graceful and perfectly proportioned 
figure with the clothes she so well knew how to put on 



318 

it added to the other attractions of the handsome young 
woman. 

"Such" was the Sunnyside Society. Mrs. Sherbondy 
alone was the Sunnyside Society and the Sunnyside 
Society was Mrs. Sherbondy. She used the name 
of her mother, Mrs. E. Stevens, as "National president" 
of the organization, and that of her sister, Mrs. B. E. 
Buttles, as one of the "State organizers." It was neces- 
sary to have a list of patronesses. 

It might come in handy, she thought, to have some 
among her officials who were not mythical — persons to 
whom she could point in case of undue questioning from 
the outside. Of course there were other "officers" in 
the literature of the society, but Mrs. Sherbondy's mother 
and sister were the only revealed flesh and blood mem- 
bers beside herself. 

The "Settlement Home" maintained by the organiza- 
tion was at 4614 Emerald avenue. It was advertised as 
a place where deserving mothers could leave children 
while they went out to toil for subsistence. It was said 
several more homes would be opened. But so far as the 
police ever learned the only child ever left at the Settle- 
ment Home while its mother went forth to battle with 
the world was the 10-year-old son of Mrs. Violet Sher- 
bondy, who, by the way, never used her own name in 
connection with her scheme. 

The child's grandmother, the national president, "pre- 
sided" over little Roy Sherbondy. She spent most of 
her time dressing the handsome lad in picturesque cos- 
tumes and taking him to photograph galleries, where 
the pictures were made that adorned the cover of "Sun- 



319 



isn?mnmm?mmmmn?nmm???mH?!m!nmmmn?mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmK 



OCTOBER 



1904 ^3 



SUNNYSIDE 




^ ^ ^€ PUBLISHED IN AID OF ^ ^ ^ 
THE CHILDREN OF THE TENEMENTS 



^iuuumuaauuuuuiaiimiUiUUiauimi$jiiuuiuauuiiiiUiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiuuiiuuiiiiiiiniiiii>>: 



320 AN ARMY OF AGENTS 

nyside," a paper purporting to be published in the in- 
terests of the dearly beloved poor. This publication 
furnished Mrs. Sherbondy her principal instrument. 

The sister, Mrs. Buttles, spent her time profitably in 
the field, where she sold cartloads of the paper Mrs. 
Sherbondy compiled. She alone of the small army of 
agents which Mrs. Sherbondy sent forth to campaign 
against the philanthropic knew the paper was a fraud, 
the organization it represented fabulous and the home 
it was supposed to maintain a dwelling of grafters. 

The agents were well received at the homes of citi- 
zens.. They worked hard, as they were allowed fifty per 
cent of the money acquired by the sale of the magazine. 
It was sold for ten cents a copy and many annual sub- 
scriptions were taken at one dollar in "advance. Among 
the names on Mrs. Sherbondy's books were those of 
Former Senator William E. Mason, S. E. Gross, the 
millionaire real estate dealer; Captain John Mersch, of 
the Evanston police force ; Dr. Charles P. Garnet, of 
Evanston, and John S. Hahn. 

As an instrument for grafting the little periodical was 
a work of art.- It was the most cleverly compiled decep- 
tions in "come on" literature the police ever encoun- 
tered. Fairly breathing of goodness and child-love 
and teeming with God-like motives it was the false self 
of Violet Sherbondy transferred to paper. 

"Sunnyside" was neatly gotten up. On the cover 
appeared a half-tone picture of little Roy Sherbondy, 
attired in a jaunty outing costume. No name appeared 
1 -ercath the cut but in large type was the legend: 

"Published in aid of the children of the tenements." 



321 



The first page of the October number (1904) con- 
tained a story entitled "A Deed of Kindness," supposed 
to have been written by a little girl in Los Angeles, 
whose name and address were given at the head of the 
article. Following it was a treatise setting forth the 
beauties of the kindergarten system in which the name 
of the Creator and the words of the Savior appeared pro- 
fusely. 

The next page was headed : "The Sunnyside Society." 
Here Violet Sherbondy shone at her best. To repro- 
duce the entire contents of the magazine would not be 
tiresome, but space restricts to brief extracts. First, 
Violet told in verse of the magic wrought by kind words, 
smiles and touches. She must have smiled as she penned 
the word "touch." One may imagine Violet's thoughts 
as she committed the following: 

"You Never Can Tell/' 

You never can tell when you do an act 

Just what the result will be; 
But with every deed you are sowing a seed 

Though its harvest you may not see. ... 
Every kindly act is an acorn dropped 

In God's productive soil; 
Though you may not know, yet the tree shall grow, 

And shelter the brow that toils. 

The question arises whether Mrs. Sherbondy foresaw 
what the "harvest would be" in her case. Farther she 
wrote : "It costs nothing to become a member of the 
Su::nyside Society. You simply promise to perform 
some useful act. You are amply repaid by the happiness 



522 

you bestow." Below are submitted words of wisdom 
and advice that are interesting as coming from the pen 
of a conscienceless grafter: 

"One of the finest fruits of culture is the power to 
see the man or woman whom God made in his own im- 
age, and not the one that is scarred by faults and de- 
ficiencies." 

"It is only the generous, loving soul that attains this 
degree of culture." 

"Write your name with kindness, love and mercy on 
the hearts of those with whom you associate and you 
will never be forgotten." 

"What a good old world this would be if there were 
nt> selfishness in it." 

"There is nothing on earth so wonderful as the bud- 
ding soul of a little child." 

"It is only the broad, charitable, magnanimous, great- 
hearted man or woman who is blind to the defects of 
others and enlarges their good qualities." 

"Every one in this great big world can do something 
1p make others happier." 

"Scatter Sunnyside — make some child's life happier — 
the reward is bountiful both to you and posterity." 

Violet might have added that the reward for the scat- 
tering Sunnyside — or rather fifty per cent of it — came 
directly to her, and the only posterity benefited thereby 
was her own dear Roy, who in his singular self con- 
stituted the supposedly numerous beneficiaries of the 
Sunnyside Settlement Home on Emerald avenue. 

Her two-column appeal for aid in alleviating the con- 
dition of "The Alley Child" was enough to bring tears 



323 



to the eyes of an iron lawn-dog. This bit of feeble 
levity is remindful of the fact there was a lovely story 
for the little ones entitled "The True Story of a Big- 
Dog." 

It was on the editorial page that Mrs. Sherbondy gets 
down to business and tells us that Sunnyside advocated 
"Better Tenements, Fresh Air Outings, Public Play- 
grounds and Children's Clubs." Giving the "fake" 
names of the society's "tenement house visiting board" 
and "State organizers," she painted in vivid rhetoric the 
glorious mission in which they engaged. 

After describing how the movement was inaugurated 
in various cities and spread until the need of additional 
funds — a steady and dependable income — was apparent, 
she told of the founding of the "little paper" as a means 
of support for this great charity. She told of the won- 
derful settlement home and of the summer outings "pro- 
vided during the summer months for the wan little folk 
of the tenment districts." 

The Sunnyside Society nor the Sunnyside paper ever 
saw a summer month during their period of joint ex- 
istence. This was in October and the graft had been 
on about two months. 

Again the editor said : "At Thanksgiving and Christ- 
mas we provide free dinners and toys for children. 
Through our employment bureau we secure work for 
hundreds of poor women free of charge." 

The fact the Sunnyside graft had not been on during 
any Thanksgiving or Christmas didn't bother Mrs. Sher* 
bondy. 



324 



Immediately after the last mentioned beautiful lie -she 
wrote : 

"Our work is non-restricted by denominational lines, 
We know only one religion and that we teach : Love 
thy neighbor as thyself." 

On the other pages were photographic reproductions 
of angelic youngsters and full directions for organizing 
clubs subsidary to the national body. The principal ob- 
ject of these clubs was to send in subscriptions to the 
paper. There were also numerous stories, each with a 
moral involving love, kindness and self-sacrifice, and 
cleverly arranged fake accounts of episodes depicting the 
progress of the society's labors in behalf of mankind. 

As a matter of record neither Mrs. Sherbondy, her 
mother or her sister could have given the location of 
a single tenement house in Chicago had the price of 
ten thousand subscriptions to Sunnyside depended on 
their doing so. They didn't know what a tenement 
house looked like. The graft was too good for them to 
go "snooping" around tenements and it would have 
been a shame for Roy, the seraphic model for pictures 
of the reformed "alley child," to mix with dirty little 
brats in the slums. 

The headquarters of Mrs. Sherbondy were at Room 
71, 119 La Salle street. This office was the editorial 
sanctum of Sunnyside and the national fountain head 
of the. "organization." It was where Violet Sherbondy 
counted her money. 

On the afternoon of October 28. 1904, Detective Clif- 
ton R. Wooldridge visited Mrs. Sherbondy in her office. 
lie was graciously received. In fact the implacable de- 



325 



tective almost fell under the spell of the charming swi*- 
cller. He recovered himself, accepted a chair that was 
graciously offered and inquired: 

"Mrs. Sherbondy, how long have you been in busi- 
ness?" 

"Oh ! You mean how long have I been publishing 
the Sunnyside? Why, this month's is the first issue." 

"How long has the Sunnyside Society been in exist- 
ence?" 

"For quite a while. It is a grand work. We are 
doing an immense amount of good among the children 
of the tenements and our home " 

"Yes, I have seen the 'home.' " 

This last remark by the detective perturbed Mrs. 
Sherbondy not a little, but she maintained a brave front. 
Wooldridge drew forth a copy of "Sunnyside" and 
opened it to the page on which appeared the list of 
officers. 

"Who is Mrs. Stevens, whoriTyou have listed here as 
the 'national president'?" asked Wooldridge. 

"Why, she's the nicest and most lovable woman I ever 
met," gushed Mrs. Sherbondy. "She is wealthy and 
philanthropic and devotes herself, heart and soul, to 
our glorious work. She is the matron of our Settlement 
Home out on Emerald avenue." 

"Who gave her the job?" asked the officer. 

"She was elected." 

"Elected by whom?" 

"By the board of directors of the society." 

"Where are they?" 

"In the east." 



826 

"Oh, yes! In the east. Quite a place — the east — 
isn't it?" 

Wooldridge waited, but the woman didn't seem 
anxious to be more explicit, so he continued : 

"How long have you known Mrs. Stevens?" 

"Let me see," said Mrs. Sherbondy, musingly; "I met 
her a little over two years ago. She became interested 
in our work and joined us. I have never seen a woman 
more enthusiastic and self-denying in the cause of char- 
ity. Mrs. Stevens is one of the noblest women I have 
ever met." 

"Now, Mts. Sherbondy," pursued the detective, "isn't 
it a fact you have known Mrs. Stevens longer than two 
Smrs ?" 

"Why, np," sweetly responded Mrs. Sherbondy. "If 
tiny memory serves me we are just beginning the third 
year of .pur acquaintanceship." 

"Mrs. Sherbondy, isn't it a fact Mrs. Stevens was at 
your house the night you were born?" (Symptoms of 
heart failure on the part of Mrs. Sherbondy.) "And 
that she was the most important person in all that agi- 
tated household next to yourself?" (Wide-eyed aston- 
ishment on the part of Mrs. Sherbondy.) 

The woman gasped and stammered something in re- 
ply, but the detective pretended not to notice her em- 
barrassment as he continued mercilessly : 

"Isn't Mrs. Stevens your nearest relative, Mrs. Sher- 
bondy? Isn't she your mother?" 

The woman nodded affirmatively and turned her eyes 
toward the floor. But Wooldridge was not through. 



827 



"And this picture on the cover of tiie magazine, Mrs. 
Sherbondy — whose likeness is that?" 

"That's taken from a photograph of one of the little 
boys out at the Home — one of the inmates." (Signs of 
returning nerve in Mrs. Sherbondy.) "Isn't he sweet?" 

"Yes, I must say he is awful sweet," mused the de- 
tective, as he adjusted his eyeglasses and scanned the 
picture critically. Then he bent his gaze upon the wo- 
man's face and back to the picture again. 

"How long have you known this sweet little fellow?" 
he asked. 

"About two years — ever since he has been at the home 
— yes, about two years it is." 

"If you were to jog your memory good and hard, Mrs. 
Sherbondy, don't you think you could remember having 
seen him previously to two years ago? In fact, weren't 
you present the day he was born?" 

The woman colored deeply and looked daggers at the 
detective, who sat quietly eyeing her and awaiting a 
reply. When the silence became painful he broke it. 

"Mrs. Sherbondy," he said, looking straight into her 
eyes and tapping the picture of the boy with his ( nose- 
glasses, "do you disown that little fellow as your son? 
Do you deny that you are his mother?" 

All the woman in her came to the surface in an in- 
stant. She leaped to her feet, and glaring defiantly at 
the officer, cried : 

"Never! I am his mother!" 

The woman's shell of deceit was pierced. She sank 
limply into a chair while the detective continued to pro- 
pound questions. She acknowledged Mrs. Buttles was 



328 



her sister and that she had seceded from the National 
Sunshine Legion, of which she was the Chicago man- 
ager, and started the Sunnyside charity on her own ac- 
count. 

As the detective called attention to the obviously false 
statements in her paper relative to work accomplished 
and under way Mrs. Sherbondy gave an exhibition of 
artistic mendacity. "Misprints" and "mistakes of the 
printer," she called most of them. Her stories, how- 
ever, would not hold water and she was arrested. 

Next day she was fined $100 in the Harrison street 
police court and sent to the Bridewell in default of pay- 
ment. Later she was rescued from the -House of Cor- 
rection by friends. 

The spirit of the woman was' completely broken by 
by the ignominy of the trip in the Black Maria. The 
true hideousness of the situation dawned upon her when 
she was led from the court room and lodged in the 
"bull pen" to await the arrival of the Bridewell wagon. 
She was dressed in the height of fashion and carried her- 
self, as always, with the air of a queen, but when she 
was escorted into the gloomy, ill-smelling room with 
barred windows, all her buoyancy left her. 

To a person accustomed to decent surroundings the 
scene of which the woman sharper was now a part was 
peculiarly revolting. Coarse-mouthed negresses, painted 
women of the street, female habitual drunkards and the 
flotsam and jetsam of the Chicago levee were her com- 
panions. Whatever else she was Violet Sherbondy was 
not coarse. 

When the "2 o'clock 'bus," with its grated sides and 



FOR SWEET CHARITY'S SAKE 



329 




TENEMENT CHARITY GRAFTER. This woman collected 
thousands of dollars for the poor children, not one dollar of 
which they ever received the benefit of. Her newspaper, 
"Sunnyside," was suppressed and she was arrested and im- 
prisoned by the author. 



330 



barred door, drew up to receive its daily load of men 
and women destined for the workhouse, Mrs. Sherbondy 
faltered. As she was led with the others from the "bull 
pen" to the wagon she bent her gaze upon the sidewalk. 
Her cheeks blazed with shame and there was the sus- 
picion of tears in her eyes. She was a picture of abject 
humiliation. 

Into the Black Maria she climbed as the usual crowd 
of court room hangers-on and levee habitutes clustered 
about to watch the loading process. As her silken skirts 
rustled down the double file of onlookers two wags be- 
gan to sing, to the tune of "Good-bye, Little Girl, Good- 
bye," the following appropriate improvisation : 

"Good-bye, Violet, good-bye; 
Don't cry, Violet, don't cry; 
We'll look for you back some day 
At the nursery graft so gay, 

Good-bye, Violet, good-bye." 

But Violet was thinking of other things. She was 
thinking of revenge. Not revenge upon the police. 
She knew the business in which she engaged was ille- 
gitimate and she was "game" enough to realize the pun- 
ishment had been the inevitable result of discovery. But 
she felt she might have gone on for a few more profitable 
weeks had it not been for the act of a man she refused 
to marry. Under the impression that this was the case, 
Mrs. Sherbondy confided in Detective Wooldridge with 
the following outburst: 

"It's all the work of J. W. Floridy, this prosecution 
of me. He has been bothering me to death with offers 



331 



of marriage, and because I won't have him he is taking 
this means of getting even." 

"Who is J. W. Floridy?" inquired the detective. 

"Well, I'll tell you who he is," cried the angered 
woman. "He's the editor of a paper called the 'Sunshine 
Journal.' If you're hunting for grafters you would bet- 
ter look up the National Sunshine Legion. I used to be 
their manager here, and Floridy was after me all the 
time to marry him and start a rival paper. I don't love 
him, and when I repeatedly turned him down he acted 
like a piqued schoolboy. 

"Finally I decided to start a paper on my own account 
and call it the Sunnyside. I modeled it after the Sun- 
shine Journal, so if my paper was bad in the eyes of the 
law you ought to find something interesting in the office 
of the National Sunshine Legion. I hope you can reach 
Floridy and give him and all of them what's coming to 
them." 

This information was welcome to Wooldridge. He 
hastened to assure Mrs. Sherbondy the raid upon her 
business had been instigated by persons who found it to 
be a fraud and not by the amorous Mr. Floridy. 

The detective immediately got busy and found that 
the National Sunshine Legion was operating a supposed 
nursery at 856 West Lake street. He discovered agents 
had sold a paper called the "Sunshine Journal" since 
December, 1903, on the representations that the proceeds 
were devoted to the support of the charitable institution. 

Another discovery was that the supposed nursery was 
not opened nntil July, 1904, although funds had been 
solicited on the understanding that they were applied 



332 



directly to the support of an asylum actually in existence 
and in need of money for daily expenses. 

Wooldridge located the Chicago office of the National 
Sunshine Legion at 134 Van Buren street and found a 
Mrs. Clark in charge. Mrs. Clark claimed to have re- 
cently arrived from Philadelphia, having been sent west 
hurriedly by the "home office" at Jersey City, N. J., to 
take charge of the Chicago branch and "straighten mat- 
ters out." 

She said there had been something wrong with the 
management at this end and a controversy over the funds 
of the "Legion" between the home office and Mrs. Violet 
Sherbondy, the former manager and principal sales agent 
of the Sunshine Journal. 

The officer was convinced Mrs. Clark was not respon- 
sible for conditions he found. He advised her to com- 
municate with the Chicago Bureau of Charities or secure 
responsible persons in the city to stand sponsors for her 
organization before attempting to perpetuate it. 

Accordingly Mrs. Clark visited Mr. Ernest P. Bick- 
nell, superintendent of the Bureau of Charities, carrying 
with her the books and records of the Sunshine Legion 
as she had found them on her arrival at the Chicago 
office. Mr. Bicknell gave her an audience and went over 
the records with her carefully. The result of this inter- 
view was that Mr. Bicknell was compelled to bulletin 
the National Sunshine Legion to societies in other cities, 
kindred to the one he represented, as an organization he 
could not recommend. 

His inspection of the books showed him the average 
sales of the Sunshine Journal were over 4,000 a month, 



333 



SUNSHINE 




PUBLISHED IN AID OF 



THE CHILDREN OF THE TENEMENTS 



KB&S 



334 




BITING OFF MORE THAN HE CAN CHEW 



335 



and that from $50 to $60 a week had been sent to Jersey 
City from funds collected in Chicago. Later in court 
Mr. Bicknell testified that the National Sunshine Legion 
was an imitation of a legitimate organization known as 
the "Sunshine Society" of New York, which published 
the Sunshine Bulletin. He said there was also a paper 
known as "Sunlight," which was deserving of support 
by philanthropic persons. Working hand in hand, Mr. 
Bicknell and Detective Wooldridge made a careful in- 
vestigation of the "Legion" and its methods. 

They communicated with charitable organizations and 
the police of various cities throughout the United States 
and received unfavorable reports from New York, Bal- 
timore, Jersey City, Buffalo, Pittsburg, Boston, Hart- 
ford, Conn., Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis and 
Cincinnati. 

Wooldridge learned from Mrs. Sherbondy that the 
National Sunshine Legion was as bad a piece of business 
as her own defunct Sunnyside Society. She told him 
that when in charge of the Sunshine office she had sent 
$200 a week east. This money she said, went for the 
personal use of a Mrs. Tibbetts, owner of the Sunshine 
Journal and president of the National Sunshine Legion. 
She said J. W. Floridy was treasurer of the organization 
and editor of the paper. 

Visits by several investigators to the alleged nursery 
at 856 West Lake street disclosed the fact that the place 
was a little more than a mere blind and the cost of its 
maintenance was a mere drop in the bucket compared 
to the amount of cash that was collected for that purpose. 

It was also discovered that several young women who 



336 

had turned in from $5 to $10 a day from the sale of the 
Sunshine paper and from voluntary contributions quit 
the employment of the paper when they learned the in- 
stitution was a fake. Their observations at the home 
convinced these girls that they had been collecting money 
under false pretenses, and they hastened to put an end 
to their connection with the society. One young woman 
was found who had traveled on the road soliciting sub- 
scriptions and donations. The merits of the enterprise 
as presented by her in good faith appealed to business 
men in Omaha, St. Louis, Kansas City and other cities 
and she had turned into the Chicago office large amounts 
of cash. 

All this time, she said, -she was given to understand 
the institution was supporting a day nursery in Archer 
avenue, when as a matter of fact its "bluff" home never, 
was located at any place other than in West Lake street. 
When she discovered the real character of the Legion 
she unceremoniously resigned and refused to have any- 
thing further to do with it. Other solicitors who gar- 
nered large amounts of money in Chicago and its en- 
virons told similar stories. 

One young woman said : "I was sent to Milwaukee 
and the work up there progressed magnificently. As 
a matter of fact Milwaukee is easily worked. Rich and 
poor donated to the cause and the papers sold like hot 
cakes. The money rolled in." 

The Milwaukee account stood for hundreds of dollars 
when the Chicago manager decided to show something 
in return. She went there and announced there would 
be a grand "blowout" in the woods for the poor children 



337 



of the entire city. She didn't make the announcement 
so loudly that more than a dozen "wolf-at-the-door" peo- 
ple could hear it, however, and when the grand picnic 
was over the bank roll was shy just exactly two dollars 
and forty-one cents. 

The .solicitors were given a large, sixteen-page paper 
to sell at ten cents a copy or one dollar a year. When 
they took' annual subscriptions they would, according to 
instructions, add to their "spiel" that $i would bring the 
paper to the home of the subscriber for a term of one 
year and also would provide for a copy to be sent to the 
"Home" for some child there. 

Sometimes the paper was sent to the donor of the dol- 
lar and at others it was not. When it was sent it ar- 
rived in the form of an eight-page paper of smaller size 
than the one carried by the solicitors, and generally 
insignificant as compared with it, although the samples 
themselves were poor enough in their way. 

At the home on West Lake street Detective Wool- 
dridge found few provisions for the care of children and 
few children to enjoy them if any had been made. Most 
of the comforts provided were for adults and slight pre- 
tense was made, aside from the sign on the window, 
that the place was intended as a haven of refuge for the 
"children of the tenements." 

The woman in charge said she was totally inexperi- 
enced in the handling of children, but she didn't feel that 
she needed any experience in that direction as children 
seldom inflicted themselves on the institution. 

"The main thing is to put up a bluff that the place is 
a day nursery," she said. "I have received instructions 



338 



from Jersey City to keep the place open until this trouble 
with the police blows over. They telegraphed they 
would send checks to meet expenses until we can get 
back to selling papers and soliciting subscriptions again.'' 

An investigation was made also at Jersey City whither 
the money collected throughout the United States was 
sent. No evidence could be found in its supposed head- 
quarters that the National Sunshine Legion was spend- 
ing any of its thousands of dollars in charity work. In 
Boston a detective found a small bare room occupied 
by a woman and three or four children. The principal 
article of furniture was a box of blocks. There were 
no signs of the wonders the Legion pretended to be 
working among the poor with its funds. 

The Sunshine Legion's graft was so good that it 
fought hard against being closed up. The Chicago office 
desisted on orders from Detective Wooldridge and the 
postal authorities, but application was made in the Cir- 
cuit Court for an injunction restraining the officers from 
further interference. The suit was directed against the 
City of Chicago, Chief of Police O'Neill and Clifton 
R. Wooldridge. The matter was referred to a master 
in chancery. The Legion developed surprising financial 
resources as the hearing progressed, the court having 
ruled that the proceedings should be at the expense of the 
applicant. 

The legal history of the pious fraud in the east is 
of special interest. 

The attorney for the National Sunshine Legion served 
notice on the City of Chicago, Chief of Police O'Neill 
and Detective Wooldridge that on June 19, 1905, in Jer- 



33i> 



sey. City, N. J., the Legion would take the depositions 
of Ella M. Tibbetts, F. D. McKechnie, Joseph Flaherty, 
Joseph Floridy and Lillian Clark, and procured a dedi- 
mus from the clerk of the Superior Court of Cook Coun- 
ty authorizing and directing Frederick H. Spengeman, 
61 Sussex street, Jersey City, N. J., to act as commis- 
sioner in taking the depositions. 

The City of Chicago and the above mentioned officers 
served a counter-notice on complainant's solicitor that 
they would, at the same time and place, before the same 
commissioner, take the depositions of persons who were 
familiar with the Legion's methods in New York city, 
Jersey City, Philadelphia, Boston, Fall River and other 
places in the east. 

The defendants were represented by Assistant Corpo- 
ration Counsel Michael F. Sullivan, who was sent to 
Jersey City at the time appointed, and called on Chief 
of Police Murphy of that city, who assigned Detective 
Sergeant William E. Robinson to assist Mr. Sullivan. 
They went to No. 61 Sussex street, and found it was not 
the office of Mr. Spengeman, but was the office of the 
Legion. 

The only person in authority there was Mrs. F. D. 
McKechnie, who said the president, Mrs. Tibbetts, was 
out of the city and the treasurer, Mr. Flaherty, was in St. 
Louis, and that none of the officers of the Legion was in 
the city at that time ; that there were to be no depositions 
taken; that President Tibbetts might be in the city die 
next day. 

The officer and attorney then looked up Mr. Spenge- 
man. They found him in his office at No. 266 Wash- 



340 

ington street, and were informed he had never heard 
of any depositions to be taken ; that the Legion had not 
acquainted him with the fact they had authorized a com- 
mission to be forwarded to him for any purpose. 

The next day the officer and attorney again visited 
61 Sussex street and met President Tibbetts, a large, 
fleshy, chemical blonde, who proceeded to denounce in 
violent and coarse language everybody connected with 
the prosecution of the Legion in Chicago. 

After having been given sufficient rope to enable her 
to strangle her reputation and demonstrate her true 
character, President Tibbetts was promptly muzzled by 
Sergeant Robinson. She refused to proceed with the 
depositions. The city's solicitor then arranged with Mr. 
Spengeman to take the depositions of the witnesses 
named in the city's notice. 

Mr. Spengeman at first refused to act, saying he was 
informed by Mrs. Tibbetts and her attorney he would 
get into trouble if he did. On being assured by Chief 
Murphy no harm would come to him, he reluctantly 
consented to take the depositions. 

These were admitted in evidence, and the application 
for an injunction was denied, the master holding the 
facts presented proved the Legion was not a bona fide 
charity organization, but the coarsest kind of a subter- 
fuge for enabling unscrupulous persons to make an easy 
living in the name of charity. 

Thereupon the League refused to pay its attorney, 
who attached its property in Chicago and realized a 
portion of his fee by their sale. 

On the refusal of the Legion to pay the fee of the 



OF A DETECTIVE 341 

master in chancery and to file his report the court dis- 
missed the suit at the Legion's cost. 

In the meantime, Hamill & Egan, attorneys of 239 
Washington street, Jersey City, N. J., endeavored on 
behalf of the Legion to patch up the difficulty in Chi- 
cago, but were unsuccessful. Mr. James C. Cortelyou, 
postoffice inspector, Jersey City, rendered valuable aid 
to the police department of Chicago. 

During the taking of the depositions it was revealed 
that City Marshal Hilliard of Fall River, Mass., knew 
Flaherty as a former defendant in the courts of that 
place on a charge of failure to support his wife. 

A full account of the entire proceedings appeared in 
Hearst's Chicago American as follows : 

Depositions attacking the National Sunshine League, 
a reputed charitable organization, and attacking its or- 
ganizers and principal officers, Mrs. E. M. Tibbetts and 
Joseph W. Floridy, have been taken in New York, Bos- 
ton, Philadelphia and Jersey City, and have been admit- 
ted in evidence by Master in Chancery Barber. 

He is taking evidence in his office in the Chicago Opera 
House block, and will report to the Superior Court, to 
whom the Sunshine League made application some time 
ago for an injunction to restrain the City of Chicago 
and its police from annoying the officers of the League 
and preventing the solicitation of contributions of money 
by the League's agents. 

Some Caustic Criticism. 

The Rev. Martha C. Aitken, of West Upton, Mass., 
testifies she served as manager of the Philadelphia branch 



342 



for four weeks in the place of Mrs. Lillian Clark, who 
until recently was the Chicago manager of the League. 
She speaks lightly of .Mrs. Tibbetts, and of Floridy says : 

"Floridy is the most uncharitable looking man I ever 
saw. He has not a benevolent looking feature and wears 
an immense diamond on his finger." 

Of the couple, Abraham L. Jacob-sen, a Jersey City 
manufacturer, who lived for twenty-three years at 61 
Sussex street, testifies : "I often heard them quarreling 
and beating one another. I have frequently seen Mrs. 
Tibbetts under the influence of liquor. In one of the 
quarrels Floridy injured her so that she was sick in bed 
for two weeks." 

The testimony of these two witnesses, of Mrs. Minnie 
L. Farrand, of New York; of Adelaide Janssen, a vistor 
for the Charity Organization Society of New York; 
of Bessie de Koster, another visitor ; of Christian C. 
Carstens, assistant secretary; of Archibald A. Hill of 
New York; of Howard Brooke Dinwiddie, minor chari- 
ties investigator ; of Mary Breed, of Boston ; of Helen 
R. Wilson, once agent for the Philadelphia branch of 
the League; of Marjory Hall, of New York; of Marion 
B. Sheridan, an artist of New York, and of W. E. Rob- 
inson, a detective sergeant of Jersey City, N. J., attack 
the character of the publication of the League, and the 
alleged fraudulent nature of its charities. 

Half Retained by Solicitors. 

According to the witnesses fifty per cent of all moneys 
was paid the collectors, cash donations .were preferred 
to those of food or clothing, 



DRIVEN OUT OF CHICAGO 343 

The Sunshine Journal, the League's organ, earned 
in Philadelphia alone from $50 to $60 a week, it is al- 
leged, yet, according to the Rev. Martha Aitken, no more 
than $2 or $3 a week was spent on the table for the chil- 
dren and matrons. 

Mrs. Tibbetts and Floridy are alleged to have objected 
to this outlay and ordered her to buy cheaper butter and 
provisions. The witnesses unite in characterizing the 
alleged homes in other cities as not proper places for 
children. 

Mrs. Farrand, speaking of the New York establish- 
ment, 438 West Fortieth street, alleges : "The food was 
rancid, full with maggots. Still they cooked it and gave 
it to the children at Thanksgiving." 

At another time Floridy is said to have substituted 
for a dinner for the children a reception to a "famous 
tenement house doll named Louise," when the children 
all received dolls instead of the dinners they needed. 

Secretary Carstens of the Charity Organization So- 
ciety of New. York, which publishes a "Charity Direct- 
ory," testifies the League never applied for enrollment. 
Detective Sergeant Robinson of Jersey City testifies that 
Floridy is an alias and Joseph W. Flaherty is the real 
name of Mrs. Tibbetts' companion. 

Chicago today has no Sunnyshine or Sunshine 
Journals run for Graft and the promoters and owners 
of the Journals have concluded to avoid Chicago, 111., 
and give it a wide berth while Detective Wooldridge 
is on watch. 



344 



A CONSPIRACY IS DEFEATED. 



Efforts to Have the Detective Discharged From the 
Police Force for Doing His Duty Fail. 

On one occasion a conspiracy was entered into to get 
Detective Wooldridge discharged from the police force 
because he insisted on doing his duty. The conspiracy 
failed, however, notwithstanding the fact that one of the 
conspirators said he would spend $50,000 to get the 
detective discharged. But when his superior officers 
learned of the circumstances and had made an investiga- 
tion, the man who sought to have his star was told that 
if he spent $100,000 Wooldridge would still be on the 
police force. 

This conspiracy was brought about on account of an 
arrest which Wooldridge made July 19, 1892. He saw 
a crowd of some 300 people assembled at the corner of 
Harrison street and Wabash avenue. They were holding 
two small boys named Ike Livingston and Herman 
Cramp, the latter being a saloon keeper's son. 

The crowd charged these boys with the murder of 
another boy, who, they said, was lying on the sidewalk 
at the corner of Michigan avenue and Eldridge court. A 
number of those in the crowd demanded that the de- 
tective take these two boys into custody, which he did, 
and accompanied by several of the citizens who made 
the complaint against the two boys, went to the place 
where the alleged murder was supposed to have been 
committed. 



345 



On the sidewalk they found a pool of blood, but were 
informed that the wounded boy had been taken to State 
street by several men and the party proceeded there to 
make further investigations. They had reached the sa- 
loon at 347 State street, where the father of Herman 
Cramp lived. Here the boy gave a scream, and Hattie 
Cramp, his mother, sprang out and demanded that the 
detective at once release her son. Wooldridge told her 
he was an officer and that the boys were charged with 
seriously wounding another boy, which might result in 
death, and that he .wanted to make an investigation. 

He invited the woman to accompany him, but instead 
of doing this, she flew at him like an infuriated animal, 
struck him a stinging blow in the face, snatched a hand- 
ful of hair from his head, scratched and kicked him 
and fought like a maniac. Wooldridge was holding a 
boy with each hand and could not defend himself against 
her. 

At that moment a cab driver* William Cook, who was 
a friend of the Cramp family, ran up, gave the officer 
the "strong arm," lifting him off his feet, while the 
woman continued to rain blow after blow in his face, and 
to bite his wrists in an effort to make him release his 
hold on her son. Under this' steady and continuous as- 
sault Wooldridge was compelled to release his prisoners, 
but the cab driver still held him from behind, and con- 
tinued to kick him, saying, that he should not arrest any- 
one belonging to that saloon in his presence. 

Wooldridge finally managed to work one hand loose, 
and drawing his revolver dealt the cab driver a blow on 
the "nead, which inflicted a wound one and a half inches 



346 



long, and sent him staggering backwards. The man 
quickly recovered and attempted to get a rock, when 
Wooldridge seized him and placed him under arrest. 
Then Herman Cramp, father of the boy and proprietor 
of the saloon, came running out to Cook's assistance and 
attempted to prevent the officer from arresting him. Two 
other officers came to the assistance of Wooldridge just 
then and both the cab driver and Cramp were locked up 
at the Harrison Street Station. On the following morn- 
ing Hattie Cramp was also arrested. The trial of these 
three prisoners dragged along until August 5, when 
Justice Glennon fined Herman Cramp and William Cook 
$10 each and costs and Hattie Cramp $5. 

The day after these arrests Herman Cramp procured 
a warrant for Wooldridge's arrest and openly boasted 
that he would spend a fortune to have the detective dis- 
charged. Wooldridge gave bond and in a few hours 
he was served with another warrant sworn out by Cook, 
the cab driver, and the 'next morning another warrant 
was served on him, which was sworn out by Hattie 
Cramp. He gave bond in these cases also. They filed 
charges against him with the Chief of Police and tried 
to get him taken before the trial board. 

Wooldridge answered the charges, and attached to his 
answers the affidavits of the officers who assisted him, 
the parties who made the complaint and also the affi- 
davits of a street railroad man, who saw the attack on 
him, and who was offered $50 to testify in favor of the 
ones who filed these charges against him. 

They tried every way they could think of to get evi- 
dence which would cause the Chief of Police to discharge 



347 



Wooldridge, but made a miserable failure, for as before 
said, when the superior officers made investigations, they 
stated that even $100,000 spent in an effort_to get Wool- 
dridge discharged would not accomplish that result. This 
was the last heard of the complaint filed against Wool- 
dridge with the Chief of Police. 

When the trial came up little Ike Livingston was 
handed up to the witness stand and gave his testimony. 
In answer to a question he said : 

"Mrs. Cramp told me before I came here that if I 
said to the judge that she had struck the officer she'd get 
me into trouble." 

No effort of the cross-examining attorney bewildered 
him ; on the contrary, he anticipated questions, and when 
the lawyer got rattled, coolly suggested the word he 
wanted. 

"Did the officer tell you to say that?" 

"No, sir," answered Ike. 

"Did he tell you anything to say?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Ah, ha. What did he tell you to say?" 

"He told me to tell the truth." 

"Anything else?" 

"No, sir." 

"Did you see Mrs. Cramp strike the officer?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"When?" 

"Just after he had told her he was a police officer." 

"Did you see the officer strike Cook?" 

"No, sir." 

"Well, you were there, were you not?" 



348 



"Yes, sir." 

"Well, how did you come to miss seeing that part of 
the trouble?" 

"I was not as big as the men in the crowd around me." 

"Did you see him strike Mrs. A ?" 

"Cramp?" suggested the witness,, 

"Yes." 

"No, sir." 

Wooldridge was honorably discharged, and the justice 
took pains to emphasize that the detective was perfectly 
justified in everything he did. Cramp had two attorneys 
and a stenographer employed during the trial and with 
the fines, witnesses, etc., it cost over $450 and then he 
dropped the case, which was the last of it. 



THE FAKE EMPLOYMENT AGENT. 



Promises any Kind of a Position for a Dollar and 

Dupes Thousands but When Office is Raided no 

Record of a Single Job Filled is Found — 

Saved From Mob of Angry Victims. 

WANTED — Skilled laborers, tradesmen, shopmen, 
mechanics, clerical, professional, technical, commercial 
men for positions paying from $600 to $10,000 yearly; 
some positions offer transportation to Philippines, Ha- 
waii, Mexico, Cuba, South America, Pacific coast and 
other points. For application blank and particulars ad- 
dress M 158, Record-Herald. 

The above advertisement, printed in papers through- 
out the country, was the "come-on" by which hundreds 
of persons were swindled by one of the most bare-faced 



349 



steals that has ever come to the notice of the police. The 
perpetrator was J. H. Livingston, who did business 
under the name of the Powell Agency, with offices in the 
Continental National Bank building. Some idea of the 
magnitude of this man's operations may be gained from 
the fact that he wore an overcoat lined with $1,500 worth 
of rare furs. He lived at a fashionable south side hotel 
and startled even people of millions by his lavishness. 
Livingston moved in high society and his wife's diamonds 
and elaborate toilets excited comment wherever she 
went. 

When the end came, however, there were few who 
cared to own acquaintance with the Livingstons. So 
disgraceful was the denouement that the blackest rogue 
in the world of graft would have longed for a dark hole 
if placed in the predicament in which Livingston found 
himself. 

The system upon which Livingston worked was to 
promise everything, take all he could get and give abso- 
lutely nothing in return. He didn't even bother himself 
with furnishing him victim with a nice assortment of 
lithographed bonds, pamphlets and "con" literature. 
Printing costs money and Mr. Livingston was not in the 
business to spend. He was there to receive. The name 
he chose was one used by one of the most widely ad- 
vertised institutions in the country — the Powell adver- 
tising school, which uses entire pages in every magazine 
of any account published in the -United States. 

The system of Livingston may be best understood by 
a perusal of his letters. When a victim answered his 
advertisement the next mail brought him this : 



350 



Enclosed please find particulars, application blank and 
conditions under which an applicant secures a position 
through our registration system. Being in touch with 
the requirements and demands of hundreds of employers 
who are constantly requiring competent men for all dif- 
ferent classes of work, in the mechanical, clerical, tech- 
nical, professional and commercial lines, we are thus en- 
abled to secure for those who register through us many 
good positions in different localities. 

We do not work on the lines of an employment agency, 
as we deal only with a high grade of employes. We do 
not require our registered applicants to pay us any per- 
centage of their salary or wages and we do not deduct 
any from our standard registration fee, which is One 
Dollar, payable when you file your application with us. 

And it is also positively understood that under no cir- 
cumstances are there any other charges except the regis- 
tration fee, One Dollar, which is an assurance of good 
faith and to prevent parties from taking advantage of 
free services. 

By a system of advertising and correspondence we are 
enabled to place an application before hundreds of good 
employers who require the services of high grade em- 
ployes, competent tradesmen, shopmen, mechanics, and 
office help, besides clerical, technical and professional 
men. 

Our business with employers is strictly confidential, 
and employers who place opportunities through us do not 
find it necessary to correspond with a miscellaneous list 
of applicants. They inform us of the positions open to 
employes, their requirements, etc. 

After satisfactory references are given and the appli- 
cant's name is placed on our lists, we submit a list of suit- 
able men to all important employers of help of the class 
we register, thus enabling them to correspond directly 
with us, and the applicant does not find it necessary to 



351 



answer a lot of correspondence. We do all that for them 
until they are located in a suitable position. 

When an employer submits us an open position or po- 
sitions, we immediately furnish him with a full and re- 
liable report upon all applicants whose particular quali- 
fications cover the position which he wishes filled. We 
aim to carry none on our lists who cannot furnish the 
highest references as to character and ability to fulfill 
the position for which they register. 

By carefully reading our application blank and noting 
the conditions therein you can observe the extremely 
liberal terms of our system, which enables a competent 
man to get a good situation with no deduction from his 
salary or wages. 

We are not an employment agency, we simply assist 
reliable and competent men to obtain good situations for 
a fair consideration and our clients are of the highest 
standing. POWELL AGENCY. 

Accompanying the above beautiful bundle of bun- 
combe was a "history sheet," upon which the applicant 
was requested to register everything concerning himself 
from his weight at birth to the color of his wife's eyes. 
Invariably the "Application'' came back with the neces- 
sary dollar, especially as a green slip would be enclosed 
in the letter announcing a few hundred choice positions 
in every quarter of the globe which must be filled immedi- 
ately after a certain date — the date always being put a 
few days ahead of the time at which the victim became 
interested. 

To be brief, the sending of the dollar ended the trans- 
action. Livingston never had a. bona fide position to 
offer anyone. He didn't want them and what was more 
he didn't need them. The fact that there were suckers 



352 



in the world was enough for him. If a business man had 
applied to Livingston for a man he would undoubtedly 
have found that worthy too busy counting money to ac- 
commodate him. 

Money flowed into the "Powell Agency" like water 
through a mill race. But that was not fast enough for 
the swift Mr. Livingston. Society life on the south side 
came high. One day Mr. Livingston paused long enough 
in his arduous job of straightening out folded one dollar 
bills to reflect upon the sad circumstance that there were 
in the city of Chicago a vast number of gentlemen who 
once wore the blue and carried the hickory as guardians 
of the peace, but who now, by the fortunes of politics and 
things, were out of employment. It was a happy thought. 
The Powell Agency promptly advertised for former 
policemen. The one-time coppers answered in force, 
and then he fired this at them : 

Shortly after January i, 1904, there will be organized 
in this city a Merchants' and Citizens' Protective System, 
which will cover the business, financial and residence dis- 
tricts. This system will be organized, directed and 
financed by several of the most prominent business men 
and citizens of Chicago and suburbs. 

They have directed us to secure for them some suitable 
men who possess the necessary qualifications. 

Applicants must be able-bodied, have good health, eye- 
sight, hearing, etc., and must furnish at least five good 
reliable references as to their honesty, character, etc., and 
in cases where men are to be stationed in financial insti- 
tutions they must furnish surety bonds. Those who are 
accepted will be furnished necessary uniforms and full 
equipment without charge. This organization will pay 
men who are employed by them ninety dollars a month. 



353 



Suitable men who desire to register for this work can 
do so by carefully filling out the enclosed blank and con- 
forming to the conditions on the back of the application 
blank. Registration fee, One Dollar. Positively no other 
charges or deductions. Registration fee positively re- 
turned to applicants who cannot pass. 

No strike or detective work. 

POWELL AGENCY. 

Where is the ex-policeman who would not bite at a 
thing like that? And they did bite. The former coppers 
took the bait, hook, line, sinker, pole and reel. At the 
finish they almost took the man who held the pole as will 
later be seen. For a one man graft, Livingston certainly 
had a winner, until George W. Geary, state employment 
agency superintendent, discovered that he was operating 
without a license and notified Detective Wooldridge. The 
sleuth discovered that Livingston was doing worse things 
to the community than operating without a license and he 
uncermoniously dragged him out of bed in his luxurious 
south side apartments one night and carted him off to 
the Harrison Street police lockup. 

His office was raided and mail confiscated which 
showed he had received thousands of dollars from appli- 
cants for positions and no record could be found of any- 
agreement he had ever kept. He evidently had made not 
the slightest pretense of delivering the goods in any 
way, shape or form. 

As might be supposed, the announcement of the rascal's 
arrest brought an army of his victims to the Harrison 
Street police court when he was arraigned for hearing. 
More than 200 angry men, most of them ex-policemen, 



354 



thronged the court room and overflowed into the police 
station. Livingston grew white when he saw the crowd 
of dupes. After he had been held to the criminal court 
on a charge of operating an employment agency without 
a license and an additional one placed against him by 
Wooldridge of obtaining "money by means of a confi- 
dence game," Livingston turned to the officer and begged 
for protection away from the station. 

Wooldridge took pity on the man's physical plight and 
started to escort him to the street. Immediately they were 
the center of a surging crowd of men. 

"Slug him ! Shoot him ! Drag him out in the alley 
and give us all a kick at his face ! Give us our money 
back ! Let's take it out of his hide !" 

These were some of the exclamations which caused 
the swindler to tremble and cling to the officer's arm. 
His terror was increased when blows were aimed at him, 
but he was too frightened to fight back or even assist 
Wooldridge, who was having his hands full protecting 
the man from blows which might have killed him. The 
sympathy of the other policemen about was with the as- 
sailants, as was also Wooldridge's, but he had undertaken 
a job and must see it through. Finally Wooldridge man- 
aged to shove his man out of the door and down the 
stairs to the street, thus giving him a chance to run, 
which he promptly accepted. 

The experience was too much for Livingston, how- 
ever. When beset by those he had duped he had shouted 
that he would pay them all back tenfold, but he forfeited 
his bond and fled the city. As usual, however, the 
swindler quit winner financially. 



355 




There will be a Hot Old Time in this Town When I Catch 
the Man who Vampoozilled Dad. 



356 



WOULD HAVE BLOWN THE SAFE. 



In Performing His Duty a Detective Comes Near 
Playing the Role of Burglar. 

If the messenger which Detective Wooldridge sent on 
July 13, 1 90 1, had returned earlier with a kit of burglar's 
tools, the big steel safe in Powers & O'Brien's saloon, 
170 Madison street, would have been blown open and the 
officer would have had another accomplishment placed 
to his credit — that of a safe-blower. 

Two days before that, complaint had been made on 
oath before Justice Prindeville, that there were concealed 
in the safe of Powers & O'Brien, evidences of gambling, 
especially book-making on the races. Upon this informa- 
tion the justice issued search warrants and sent Detective 
Wooldridge with eight assistants to raid the place and 
confiscate the gambling paraphernalia. 

Detective Wooldridge demanded that the safe be 
opened. John Powers, who was in charge of the saloon, 
refused to comply with the request, saying he did not 
know the combination. He declared that the only man 
who could open the safe was William O'Brien, his part- 
ner. O'Brien was at the race track and would not re- 
turn until nearly night. 

Powers was then told that unless the safe was opened, 
an expert would be sent for, and if he could not open it 
the detective would get a kit of tools and dynamite and 
blow it open. This did not have the desired effect, and 
a messenger was sent at once to the Hall Safe & Lock 
Company for an expert. 



357 



Upon examining the safe, it was found that it could 
not be opened by ordinary methods and Wooldridge then 
resolved to use more desperate means. A man was then 
sent for the tools necessary to open the safe by force, 
the officers remaining in the place while the messenger 
was gone. 

In the meantime Powers & O'Brien hurriedly sought 
their attorney, and, going before Judge Hanecy, asked 
for an injunction to restrain the officer from blowing 
the safe. The court at once issued the injunction and it 
was served on the officers while they were waiting for 
the tools with which to open the alleged repository of 
the evidence of pool selling. 

The tardiness of the messenger who was sent for the 
tools and the injunction issued by Judge Hanecy, are the 
two circumstances which prevented Detective Wooldridge 
from playing the role of a safe-blower. 

In the affidavit upon which the injunction was obtained, 
Powers swore that the officers had been hanging about 
his place of business and making threats about raiding, 
talking in a loud tone of voice, which, the affidavit said, 
was ruining his business and keeping away his custom- 
ers. 

The injunction was in force until dissolved a few days 
later by Judge Hanecy upon affidavits submitted by the 
officers. In their answer, they denied the charges of 
making loud threats, or of conducting themselves in any 
way that would injure the business of the firm. The an- 
swer further stated that on April 27 they entered the 
place and arrested Ed. Flannigan, Joe Woods and Harry 
Hughes. They were charged with gambling and in- 



358 



dieted by the grand jury. On May 25, they again ar- 
rested Harry Hughes, at the same place, and he was 
held to the grand jury two days later in bonds of $300,, 
by Justice Prindiville. 

The issuance of the restraining order by Judge Hanecy 
created a great deal of comment, which was anything 
but favorable to the judge. In explanation of the matter 
Judge Hanecy declared he did not read the bill of com- 
plaint. He said it was handed to him for his signature 
while he was holding court. 

If the main facts in the complaint were read to him, 
he said, he did not hear them, as at the time he was 
listening to the argument of counsel in a case on trial. 
He examined the document to see if it bore the recom- 
mendation- of the master in chancery. Finding that it 
did, he signed the bill without making any inquiries. 

Perry A. Hull, the master in chancery who recom- 
mended the injunction against the police to be issued, 
explained his connection with it by saying: 

"All the master in chancery has to go by in a case of 
this kind is the bill of complaint. In this instance the 
bill set forth that the legal business of the complainants 
was being interfered with, and that as the offenders were 
irresponsible parties in a legal sense, the loss to the busi- 
ness would be irreparable if the injunction did not issue. 
On the face of the bill there was ample ground for the 
recommendation." 

The injunction placed the police department in one of 
the most peculiar positions it has ever occupied. The re- 
straining order forbade Chief O'Neill or any of his offi- 
cers, not only from opening the safe, but from entering 



WOMEN POOR DETECTIVES 359 

the saloon for any purpose. If a murder had been com- 
mitted in the place, any officer, from the chief down to 
patrolman, would have violated the court's order in en- 
tering to arrest the murderer, and if he had done so he 
would have been in contempt of court. 

The dissolution of the injunction was considered a 
great victory for the police department. Of course there 
was no necessity then for opening the safe to find evi- 
dences of pool selling, as such evidence would have 
been removed if it had been there. No further com- 
plaint reached the police concerning the place and it was 
not molested again. 

i. 

WOMEN NOT GOOD SLEUTHS. 



Women Have Poor Ability as Detectives — Are 
More Frequently of Value as Informers. 

There may be a female Sherlock Holmes some day — 
but detectives think there won't. The remoteness of 
this possibility, however, does not deter numbers of 
women from making constant application to the heads of 
large detective bureaus for employment. Generally they 
are refused. 

Detectives are practically unanimous that with one or 
two exceptions the different lines of detective work are 
closed to women simply because they are women. One 
of these exceptions is work in a department store. There 
it is almost necessary that the detective should be a 
woman. A man loitering about the store to detect shop- 
lifters would be known within a short time. His would 



360 



be too unnatural a position. Men do not wander through 
department stores as- a rule. 

In other lines of the work a woman is at a natural 
handicap which makes it impossible for her to do serv- 
iceable work, and which makes the manager of a de- 
tective agency unwilling to give her employment. For 
instance a woman cannot shadow a man. She cannot loi- 
ter about the streets without attracting as much attention 
as the man would in a department store. In spite of these 
obstacles the number of women who desire to go in the 
business is always large. 

A. L. Drummond, who was chief of the United States 
secret service for twenty years, being John Wilkie's pred- 
ecessor, said of the woman detective : 

"They don't exist in a legitimate business — that is, a 
business which concerns itself with the pursuit of crime 
and the protection of commercial interests. We have 
applicants, of course, but in the ten years that I have 
been out of the government service I have not paid out, 
all told, more than $30 for the services of women. I 
keep none in my employment. Once in a while, by chance., 
I need one.* If I do it is generally some private individ- 
ual, perhaps a member of my own family, that I employ. 

" The applicants as a rule are not a desirable class of 
women. Strange to say they are not young girls, smit- 
ten with a desire for a life adventure. They are not ro- 
mantic dime-novel-reading young idiots like the boys. 
We never have an office boy who does not believe him- 
self an undeveloped Sherlock Holmes, and the boys who 
come here on errands from other places generally speak 
in husky voices and peer around for trap doors. 



361 



"Would-be sleuths among the women are usually be- 
yond thirty-five years of age. Most generally it was a 
divorced woman who knows how she was caught and 
thinks she could improve the knowledge she gained thus. 
Sometimes the widow of a detective tries to take his 
place, but unless she confines her work entirely to the 
management of the office she will make a failure of it and 
soon give it up. 

"In fact, the only woman who does any effective de- 
tective work is the distinctly non-professional. Once the 
government employed a woman to run down the default- 
ing president of a national bank. She was employed for 
three months and she finally got the man in Brazil. That 
was good work. Occasionally in counterfeiting cases 
women are valuable, but it is nearly always as informers 
and not as detectives." 



WINNING AND TRIMMING THE 
IMBECILES. 



How Agencies Play Upon the Known Deficiency in 
Mental Equipment of Their Correspondents by 
Selling Them Instructions Guaranteed to Enable 
Them to Perform the Impossible in Many Ways. 

Selections are made at random from advertisements 
found on a single page of " CLIMAX," a marriage bu- 
reau publication that was put out of business by Detec- 
tive Wooldridge while it was enjoying a circulation ap- 
proaching a million copies monthly in the United States, 
Canada, Mexico and Europe. These advertisements were 



362 HOW TO DO WONDERS 

a great source of revenue to the matrimonial agency peo- 
ple for the reason that their patrons in the " marry 
wealthy " branch of the business were of the kind easily 
victimized by almost any means. 

Many advertisements similar to those quoted below 
will still be found in cheap " mail order " papers with 
which the country is constantly flooded. These papers 
are seldom circulated in the cities, but may be seen stuffed 
into the boxes of every rural postoffice in the United 
States. 

Accompanied by a picture representing a beautiful 
woman succumbing to slumber at the beck of a man who 
stands over her. the following weird conglomeration of 
promises is found. 

SECRETS OF CLAIRVOYANCE. 
And How to Become an Operator. 

SECRETS OF MESMERISM AND HYPNOTISM. 

And How to Become a Hypnotist or Mesmerist, with 

Full Instructions How to Become a Spirit Medium. 

This book opens the sealed door at once and makes 
one a clairvoyant, a mesmerist, a hypnotist and a spirit 
medium without spending money to learn from those al- 
ready skilled. With this book in your possession all mys- 
tery will disappear and what before seemed to you be- 
yond all human explanation will be as clear as the light 
of day. It should be sold for $100 instead of 50 cents. 
Hypnotism gives one power over their acquaintances. 
Anyone can become an efficient operator, and then the 
advantages are very great and the benefits enormous. 
Clairvoyance teaches your future destiny and the final 
results of all ventures and speculations, and gives wis- 
dom to the unlearned. Clairvoyance teaches how to get 
on in the world and own houses and lands and gold and 



363 



silver mines, and where to find treasures hidden or buried, 
and how to accumulate money very rapidly. It enables 
any one to discover, locate and generally cure diseases 
and discern things that are transpiring in other places, 
though thousands of miles distant. Clairvoyance over- 
comes trouble of any kind and enables you to discover 
things lost, hidden or stolen. It enables one to tell what 
an absent one is doing or has done in times past. Clair- 
voyance enables a person to know whether their lover is 
true or false — in fact all their movements may be known. 
It reveals lucky numbers in lotteries and enables one to 
know which horses will win the races and which club 
will win the game. Clairvoyance can see through one's 
clothing and ascertain whether they are sound and 
healthy; also can tell whether married persons are true 
to each other. MESMERISM enables one to stop pain 
of any kind almost instantly. Cures neuralgia and nerv- 
ous headache. See through brick walls. Produce un- 
consciousness, leaving no remembrance of occurrences 
when awakened. Clairvoyance puts you in possession of 
the key to wealth. It reveals the location of minerals 
and precious stones, and brings back lost friends. It 
teaches how to perform miraculous cures of diseases, as 
done by the prophets and healers, by seeing through every 
part of the human body as if it were made of glass. It 
enables one to discover and win their future husband or 
wife. Clairvoyance determines thousands of things not 
named here for lack of space. Every secret of any value 
connected with Psychology, Mesmerism, Hypnotism or 
Spiritualism is explained so accurately and simply that 
any person owning this great book can do ANYTHING. 

The advertisement neglects to set forth, however, the 
sad but interesting circumstance that three square meals 
a day are the exception and not the rule in the roosts 
inhabited by the so-called master and teachers of the 
things set forth. Neither do the meals come rhombic nor 



364 



rectangular in bunches of three. The experience of a 
detective in a great city teaches him that Ai champion 
ground and lofty mesmerists and clairvoyants eat occa- 
sionally and only when some city sucker or country vis- 
itor happens to fall through the cement sidewalk or up 
four flights of stairs to their laboratories of mystery. 

But, as if the accomplishments as set forth above were 
not enough for one human being to be guilty of possess- 
ing, gaze upon the following: 

THE DEVIL'S LEGACY 

To Earth Mortals, being the Keynote to Black Arts, 
Witchcraft, Divinations, Omens, Forewarnings, Ap- 
paritions, Sorcery, Dreams, Demonology, Predictions, 
Visions and COMPACTS WITH THE DEVIL. 

A book so strange and wonderful that the human mind 
can barely grasp its mysteries. The belief in the black 
art and its practices dates back thousands of years. All 
countries and nations have given it attention, and the 
refined and rude, the ignorant and the learned, have been 
and are now believing in it. The dark night of super- 
stition will never end and no day will ever break so 
bright as to drive away mankind's belief in the mysteries 
that this book strives to unravel. It gives the names, 
lives and doings of all the noted witches of ancient and 
modern times, what they did and how they did it, and 
how many were hung in America and other countries. Lot- 
tery prizes, how won. Forewarnings and what they mean. 
The bloodcurdling history of the " White Lady." Freaks 
of nature, the witches, herbs for curing all kinds of dis- 
eases and what the herbs are. Also the famous elixir 
of life that restores the aged to the buoyancy of youth. 
Seeing with the eyes closed. Visions of those we knew. 
The divining rod and how to make one (a writer says 



365 



that with this divining rod he discovered a coal mine and 
was paid $5,000 for locating it). It is the best divining 
rod for locating gold and silver mines ever known. In 
the hands of some people this hook is a sure fortune. 
The philosopher's secrets of changing lead into precious 
metals. To tincture silver into gold. To cure diseases 
by medical, celestial and sympathetic means. How ma- 
gicians call forth souls of the dead. Magic crystals and 
spirit mirrors, in which are said to be seen forms, ob- 
jects, visions and most beautiful scenes of the world's 
unknown to earth mortals, and the forms of living friends 
far distant from you are seen and their movements known 
at that very moment although miles away. We are living 
now in an age of mystery, as difficult to satisfactorily 
explain as the mysteries of two thousand years ago. This 
book teaches how to summon and converse with the spir- 
its and how the demons can be made to do man's bid- 
ding. 

Now, if you please, try to imagine what a man could 
accomplish in this world if, after having read the above 
mentioned books, he perused this : 

DIABOLISM, 
Or the Dark Wizard's Own 

BOOK OF THE BLACK ARTS. 

The wisest and best of men, from Samuel to the Puri- 
tans, believed in the almost supernatural power of the 
Spirit of Evil, the discoverer of the tree of knowledge ; 
and Eve's daughters as well as sons have frequently 
sought to know hidden events by interviews with the 
master demon. 

Roger Bacon and the most ignorant boor alike tremble 
and believe. Certain it is that this long suppressed book 
startles us by the extraordinary things it now makes 
known. The devil or some one close to his elbow could 



366 



alone tell with certainty how big prizes are gained in 
lotteries ; how a fresh infusion of blood can be made to 
dance in the veins of played-out people ; how true divin- 
ing rods are made and how used to discover gold, cop- 
per and other metals ; to point at deep down water 
springs ; and to show the nearness of diamonds and other 
precious stones. Can unseen spirits be made visible? 
Did not Cotton Mather say " Yea " ? If then, why not 
now, as revealed in this book? There are enough mys- 
teries made known in this book to give any man the 
means of making a dozen fortunes, either in metal find- 
ing, disease curing, in part by conjurations, by know- 
ing how to read forewarnings, which, often clouded in 
mysteries, are plain as daylight to any who have the key- 
note from this book. Many things are certainly exceed- 
ing strange, but the truth cannot hurt anvbody. So read 
this book for NOTHING WILL BE KEPT HIDDEN. 

If by this time the student does not deem his education 
complete, there are a dozen volumes by which he can 
gain a college education in two weeks, and speak all the 
languages ; become beautiful, no matter how unprepos- 
sessing nature turned him out ; become a mind-reader, an 
accomplished musician, a great orator, horse-trainer, ven- 
triloquist, actor, actress, prize-fighter, opera singer, tax- 
idermist, journalist, detective or prestidigitator. He may 
learn one hundred ways to kiss a girl, and in the " Lover's 
Package " how to wed anyone he desires. There is ab- 
solutely no chance of his becoming mediocre in any of 
these attainments. Testimonials are given to prove that 
every person who reads the books reaches the goal of 
his heart's desire in any line of endeavor, human or su- 
pernatural, he may choose. 

He may purchase automatons that will do the bid- 



367 



ding of his voice, and he may defy anyone to discover 
the secret of his ability to make the dummies human, no 
matter how closely he is surrounded by his audience, 
which may even handle the wonderful things. 

Of course, if the wonder-worker, who now has the 
world at his feet by some hundreds of different methods, 
tires of forcing beautiful and wealthy women to adore 
him by any occult means, he can vary the programme 
by administering " love pills," which will do the work 
for him. 

No less a personage than the late Mr. Napoleon Bona- 
parte, of Corsica and elsewhere, and whose name and 
picture have appeared in the papers on several occasions, 
is cited as an example of what one. of the firm's fifteen- 
cent volumes will accomplish. Verily, it's a wonderful 
"ad." Read it: 

NAPOLEON'S ORACULUM. 

This is the celebrated Oracle of Human Fate consulted 
by Napoleon the First, previous to any of his under- 
takings, and by which he was so successful in war, busi- 
ness and love. It is the only authentic and complete 
copy extant, being translated into English from a Ger- 
man translation of an ancient Egyptian manuscript, found 
in 1801, by M. Sonnini, in one of the royal tombs near 
Mount Lybicus, in upper Egypt. 

Wow! 

Wow ! again. 
Double wow! 

Now wouldn't that jar Josephine? 
But there is one book that truly is a wonder. By its 
study one may actually become versed in the mysteries of 



368 

"Electrical Psychology" and learn how to "Biologize" 
another into performing any act he may desire him to 
do. If the volume only explained the meaning of the two 
terms in the connection used it would serve a purpose to 
science well worth the outlay. However, it does not stop 
with little things like that. It goes on farther to impart 
even the secret of " putting a young face on an old horse." 
After hearing all of which we are compelled to helieve 
that the insane asylums of the country must contain at 
least a few persons who are engaged in taking post- 
graduate courses in the arts and sciences indicated. 



"GET RICH QUICK" ENTERPRISES 
PROSECUTED. 

Chicago, December 31, 1904. 
Francis O'Neill, Esq., Gcnh Supt. of Police ; 

Sir — I respectfully submit herewith a synopsis of the 
work done by me in prosecuting swindling concerns dur- 
ing the year 1904: 

MARRIAGE BUREAUS. 

Jan. 8th — Andrew Lowe & Co., 291 Clinton street. 
Raided and literature confiscated. Fined $20. 

Feb. 9th — J. H. Carlson — Woods Advertising Agency, 
62 Ada street. Goods confiscated. Fined $25. 

March 9th — J. H. Carson — Mill's Advertising Agency, 
71 W. Lake street. Fined $15. 

March 9th — John Wells — Mill's Advertising Agency, 
,71 W. Lake street. Fined $100. 

May 4th — J. H. Carson, alias J. H. Hayes, 408 Ogden 



THE HAND OF THE LAW 



369 



avenue. Raided. Literature seized and destroyed by 
order of court. 

May 4th — J. H. Carson, alias J. H. Hayes, 255 Madi- 
son street. Raided. Literature seized and destroyed bv, 
order of court. 

July 19th — Allen Lord, 200 Washington street. Raided. 
Literature seized and destroyed by order of court. Fined 
$25. 




370 

Nov. 15th — J. H. Carson, alias J. W. Bessie, 480 Og- 
den avenue. Raided. Arrested — released, writ of habeas 
corpus. 

Nov. 15th — J. H. Carson, alias J. W. Bessie, 67 Flour- 
noy street. Raided. Arrested — released, writ of habeas 
corpus. 

Nov. 1 6th — Henry Curren, 1242 Wabash avenue. 
Raided. Arrested and fined $100. 

Dec. 7th — Oscar Wells, alias J. H. Hunter, 164 Ran- 
dolph street, corresponding club. Fined $50. 

Dec. 7th — Isaac Warren, The Warren Directory, 697 
Fulton street. Fined $25. 

LOTTERIES. 

Feb. 19th — W. A. Paulsen, 162-164 Washington street. 
Goods confiscated and ordered destroyed by court. 

May 1st — The Montana Bond and Investment Co., 
225 Dearborn street. Closed up and literature seized and 
ordered destroyed by court. 

June 1st — Patrick Bobenge, 933 N. Lindell avenue. 
The Louisiana Co., Lottery Beneficiana Publico, Lottery 
Durkton — Germany, Hessian Thuringian State Lottery. 
Fined $25. 

Aug. 17th — Edward Harrison and E. F. Champlain, 
Pan-American and Italian National Lottery, 754 Fuller- 
ton avenue. Raided. Tickets and literature seized. 
Champlain fined $200 and Harris $100. 

Sept. 10th — Aaron Nadkin and Frank Hartwell, Hon- 
duras Lottery, Mexican Lottery, Beneficiana Publico Lot- 
tery, 475 Sangamon street. Both fined $50. 



371 



EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. 



Jan. 23rd — J. H. Lingstone, Powell Agency, 218 La 
Salle street. Literature confiscated — jumped his bond. 

April 27th — World's Fair Employment Board, 189 
Dearborn street. A. Campbell convicted. Fined $1,000. 

July 19th — The World's Fair Distributing Co. and 
Employment Agency, 1201 Wabash avenue. B. M. Ken- 
nedy and B. W. Elliott. Raided. Goods confiscated. 
Kennedy and Elliott fined $25 and $50 respectively. 

Nov. 8th — Central Railroad Employment Agency, 337 
Indiana street. Charles Sturltz arrested. Fined $25. 

Nov. 10th — Central Railroad Employment Agency, 
337 Indiana street. Charles Sturltz arrested and turned 
over to Wm. Farrell, U. S. Inspector of Mail, and held 
in $1,000 bond to Federal Grand Jury. 

TURF. COMMISSIONERS. 

April 1st — Wm. H. Emerson, alias A. Fouchyer, lit- 
erature seized and destroyed by order of court. Fined 

$25. 

May 1st — Little, Rown & Co., 3977 Cottage Grove 
avenue. Literature seized and destroyed by order of 
court. Closed. 

May 1st — Investors' Protective League, 91 Dearborn 
street. Closed. 

May 5th — Optimore System, 217-219 State street. 
Raided and closed. 

May 6th — Marshall Hamlin, Room 402, No. 250 S. 
Clark street. Literature seized and destroyed by order 
of court. 

May 14th — F. A. Church, Room 907, 185 Dearborn 



372 

street. Literature seized and destroyed by order of court. 

May 2 ist — Julius Oppenheim, No. 59 Dearborn street. 
(Drake, Dillon & Co.) Fined $100. 

May 2 ist — J. H. Oppenheim, No. 81 Dearborn street. 
(Drake, Dillon & Co.) Fined $100. 

May 25th — Larry Curtis, 226 La Salle street. (Star 
& Crescent.) Raided and closed. 

Dec. 7th — Bartlett-Collins, Bankers, Brokers and Turf 
Commissioners. Raided and closed. 

BOGUS DRUGS. 

Nov. 20th — Arrested Wm. G. Ney's and wife, 1452 
Fulton street; Edward A. Kuehnsted and wife, 6323 In- 
gleside avenue; Burtis D. McCarn, 61 13 Madison ave- 
nue; J. J. Dean, 6125 Ellis avenue. These people were 
turned over to the federal authorities for using the mails 
for fraudulent purposes. Eleven wagon loads of drugs 
were seized and also turned over. Cases awaiting action 
of Federal Grand Jury. 

FAKE CHARITY HOMES. 

Oct. 1 8th — Home for Epileptics, 502 Maplewood ave- 
nue. Raided and closed. 

Oct. 18th — Home for Epileptics, 91 Wisconsin street. 
Raided and closed. 

Oct. 28th — Sunny side Home, 121 La Salle street. Lit- 
erature destroyed. Jessie Sherbondy arrested and fined 
$100. 

Oct. 28th — Sunnyside Home, 4614 Emerald avenue. 
Closed. 

Nov. 5th — Sunnyside Home, 134 Van Buren street. 
Raided and closed. 



373 

Nov. 25th — Christian Volunteer Warriors, 449 Jack- 
son boulevard. Conducted by General O. B. Vail. 
Raided. Closed and proprietors ordered to leave town. 

MISCELLANEOUS "FAKE" SCHEMES. 

March 21st — Baldwin Cotton Co., 253 La Salle street. 
Raided and closed. H. E. Emerst and Gerald Eberman 
arrested and fined $25 each. 

June 6th — Isbell & Co., 6 Sherman street. Raided and 
closed. Irvin J. Isbell, James C. Gavigan and Arthur J. 
Wilbur indicted and now awaiting trial. 

June 25th — The Finance Developing Co., 84 La Salle 
street. F. G. Reynolds arrested. Raided and closed. 
Literature confiscated. 

July 19th — J. E. Wilson and Charles B. Richman, 
bankers, brokers and turf commissioners, 225 Dearborn 
street. Raided and closed. Literature confiscated. 

Aug. 1st — Butler-Conway Co., 88 La Salle street. 
Raided and literature confiscated. 

Aug. 1st — Columbia Mercantile Co., 3955 Wabash ave- 
nue. Exposed and closed. 

Aug. 10th — United States Game & Novelty Co., 225 
Dearborn street. Raided and closed. Evidence turned 
over to Federal authorities. 

Aug. 15th — The World's Fair Registration Club, 225 
Dearborn street. Raided and closed. 

Oct. 1 2th— National Art Co. and National Art & 
Crayon Co., Sixty-third street and Wentworth avenue. 
Raided. G. J. Martell arrested and fined $25. 

Oct. 20th — Aetna Express Co., Security Building. An- 
toni R. Silverton arrested and fined $100. 



374 

Oct. 20th — Aetna Express Co., Baltimore Building, 21 
Quincy street. Thomas G. Newbolt arrested. Dis- 
charged. 

Nov. 5th — The Investors' Guarantee Grain Club, Room 
706-707 Atwood Building. Raided and closed. 

Nov. 6th — Home Buying Assurance Co., 315 Dearborn 
street. Exposed and closed. 

Nov. 6th — Home Finding Assurance Co., 611 Unity 
Building. Raided and closed. 

"wild cat" insurance. 

July 15th — S. W. Jacobs, with offices at 152-154 East 
Lake street, president of the Merchants' Bank and the 
Chicago Loan & Trust Co., and the financial backer of 
the "Wild Cat" insurance companies at Chicago; E. A. 
Shanklin, 134 East Monroe street; Charles J. Van An- 
den, 164 La Salle street, and Charles J. Russell, 177 La 
Salle street, all owners and promoters of "wild cat" in- 
surance companies, were arrested and turned over to the 
postal authorities for using the mails for fraudulent pur- 
poses. 

One hundred and thirty-four "wild cat" insurance 
companies were doing business in Chicago on the 15th 
of July, 1904, when the crusade against them was started 
by the police. 

Five wagon loads of records, books and a variety of 
literature were taken from S. W. Jacobs, 154 East Lake 
street, and E. A. Shanklin, 134 East Monroe street, which 
supplied the information and data necessary to secure 
the arrest and conviction of these vultures who were 
preying upon the public. I secured some clerical help 



375 



from the Chicago Fire Underwriters' Association, 159 
La Salle street, and sent out 2,800 letters to policy hold- 
ers through Wm. Ketchum, inspector of mails, asking 
for information concerning the business methods of these 
"wild cat" fire insurance companies. 

As a result of our efforts, S. W. Jacobs, on December 
28th, was- sentenced to two years in the Joliet Peniten- 
tiary and fined $1,000; Charles J. Van Anden, Charles J. 
Russell and E. A. Shanklin were each sentenced for one 
year to the House of Correction and fined $500 by Judge 
Kohlsaat of the United States Court. 

Walter M. Cowell, Wallace A. Lowell, and some ten 
others were arrested later, indicted and now await trial. 

Aug. 23d — George E. Robbins, No. 84 La Salle street, 
owner and promoter of "wild cat" insurance company. 
Raided. Literature seized. Evidence impounded by 
court. Place closed up and evidence turned over to postal 
authorities later. 

Tht first six men mentioned, who were the ringleaders 
of thest "wild cat" insurance companies, had written up 
over $80,000,000 of insurance and had practically paid 
no losses. 

We collected evidence to warrant the arrest and con- 
viction of over three hundred men in other states for 
writing "wild cat" insurance. This evidence has been 
forwarded to the various state officers of the different 
states to be used against these men if prosecuted. 

All of the 134 "wild cat" insurance companies doing" 
business in this city on July 15, 1904, have practically 
ceased operation at present. 

During the past year I have made several hundred in- 



376 

vestigations and reports of letters addressed to the Gen- 
eral Superintendent of Police making complaints or in- 
quiries. I have also arrested the owners of slot machines 
and candy-vending prize machines, operated in the vi- 
cinity of the public schools to catch the pennies of the 
pupils. Although an injunction was issued restraining 
the Police Department from interfering with those ma- 
chines, yet on hearing the injunction was dissolved and 
the judge was convinced that these machines were gam- 
bling devices in fact and principle and should be sup- 
pressed. 

I also aided in the suppression of the sale of cigarettes 
to minors ; the selling of liquors in "Chop Suey" restau- 
rants, and in breaking up many so-called "blind pigs" in 
prohibition districts. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Officer Clifton R. Wooldridge. 



Francis O'Neill, general superintendent of the Chicago 
Police Department, says in his annual report of 1905 : 

Mr. Wooldridge, "I have a very high opinion of him 
and of his general efficiency. I do not know of any man 
in the service to-day who can at all compare with him 
in the ferreting out of swindling and so-called 'get-rich' 
concerns. He accomplished more in the last twelve 
months than the whole department has in a lifetime be- 
fore in that line of work." 

Never in the history of the city has such a successful 
and relentless war been waged on so-called "get-rich- 
quick" schemes, such as matrimonial agencies or mar- 



377 



riage bureaus, lotteries, fake employment agencies, turf 
commissioners, fake charity homes, "wild cat" insurance 
companies, adulterated and spurious drug enterprises, 
and some other miscellaneous swindles. 

Long exemption from interference by postal or police 
officials rendered Chicago a fruitful field for concerns of 
the character named. Alluring advertisements in news- 
papers and periodicals, with fascinating "literature" to 
beguile the greedy and credulous caught dupes without 
number. One clever, pertinacious police officer, Clifton 
R. Wooldrige by name, working under my instructions, 
played havoc with their operations, and notwithstanding 
the pleadings and protests of the schemers and their at- 
torneys, the law was found to be practical and compre- 
hensive enough to put them out of business and into jail. 

Again, in his report for the year 1903, the general 
superintendent of police declares : 

"In x no branch of police effort were the results so uni- 
formly satisfactory as in the suppression of so-called 
'get-rich-quick' concerns. The year 1903 was one of 
uninterrupted disaster to the schemes concocted by fer- 
tile brains to delude the credulous and unwary of both 
sexes. The special detail under charge of Officer Clifton 
R. Wooldridge, operating from the office of the general 
superintendent, has punished and put out of business 
scores of matrimonial bureaus and agencies, turf invest- 
ment concerns, home building associations, bucket shops, 
lotteries, wire tappers, fake promoters, book agencies and 
miscellaneous concerns." 



1*1 



378 




V Hundred to ten thousand.' 



WIRE TAPPING. 
Tapping the Wires of the Western Union Telegraph Company. 



THE WIRE-TAPPING GRAFTER. 

Of all the grafts wire tapping is the most romantic. 
It furnishes situations which could not possibly be 
brought about in any other branch of business, legitimate 
or otherwise. In a wire tapping gang there must be 
men of brain, men of education, men of mechanical ex- 
pertness and perhaps a woman or two. The game re- 
quires tact, business foresight, diplomacy, nerve and a 
technical knowledge of the delicate science of electricity 
and the ends to which the force can be used. 

No common, ordinary telegraph operator ; no cheap 
grafter of the marriage bureau type; no weakling, no 
rough-neck, no "mutt" (which is short for mutton-head 
in the world of graft) was ever captured by the police in 
a wire tapping game. Absolute trustworthiness is one of 
the first essentials of a wire tapper. There are trips across 
the country to make, there are men of money and more 
or less sense to deal with on close and intimate terms. 
Perhaps there is some crawling in sewers to be done 
or leaps to be made from house-top to house-top. 

The real thing is bad enough, but the men who con- 
tract with suckers to tap and do not tap are the silk- 
stockings of the profession. It is they who get the 
money and are safe from prosecution except for fraud 
or operating a confidence game. It is one of the safest 
swindles in the world, for the reason that the victim 
places himself equally liable with the crook when he 
enters into what he supposes is a bona fide wire tapping 
scheme. 

A few years ago some clever electricians conceived the 
scheme of tapping Western Union wires, and by placing 
a sounder or telegraph instrument in a private room 

379 



380 

would take off racing information from ten to fifteen 
minutes before it would reach the pool rooms. This 
would give the swindlers an absolute certainty as to the 
names of the winning horses in the different cities, and 
also a chance to place their money on long odds horses, 
from five to ten minutes before the betting closed, with 
resulting heavy losses to the pool rooms. This scheme 
was discovered and the telegraph companies and pool 
rooms protected themselves in such a manner that it is 
no longer worked. The confidence men, however, rec- 
ognized in it a splendid chance to skin suckers, and the 
game has developed into large proportions, and the losses 
of many of the victims total very large sums. The -first 
move in the game is for two or three members of the 
gang to open up swell offices, finely furnished and appar- 
ently having a working clerical force. The glass in the 
office doors and the cards issued show that an apparently 
high tone and successful broker's office has been estab- 
lished. The gang usually consists of from ten to twenty 
people, including men and women, 2nd in some of the 
cities in which they have operated* in addition to their 
offices, they have also fitted up an elegant residence, fur- 
nished most expensively and containing works of art and 
virtu. The cappers are usually well dressed and good 
mixers, living at the best hotels and gradually becoming 
acquainted with the habitues of the hotels, saloons and 
public places. When they have selected a victim, and 
after having assured themselves that he has ample means 
in the shape of ready cash, they gradually work up the 
question of horse racing, and finally make the statement to 
their victim that they have inside information as to a sure 
winner at one of the outside race tracks. Sometimes 
the victim will agree to bet a large amount of money 



381 



on the tip without any further urging, but as a rule, 
he is only allowed to make a small bet of $10.00 to 
$20.00. The capper and the victim proceed to the offices 
of the brokers, where a bet of $20.00 is placed. Later 
in the day the victim is notified that his horse is a winner, 
that for his $20.00 he has won $80.00 to $100.00, and 
the money is paid over to him promptly. The next play 
is for a very large stake and as they have gained the 
confidence of the victim by one or more small win- 
nings, they have but little difficulty in getting him to 
place a very heavy bet, and of course the big bet al- 
ways loses. Another phase of the "bogus wire tap- 
ping," or "first passed the post" swindle, is the com- 
plete telegraphic outfit in the possession of the gang. 
Sometimes the victim becomes skeptical as to> the claim 
of the swindlers that they have advance information 
over their own private wire from some certain race 
track, and it becomes necessary in order to convince 
him to show him the "line" in operation, so as to 
carry out the deception and take no chances, one of their 
number is usually a telegrapher who operates the in- 
struments. The telegraphic outfit is complete, and is 
usually in a side room or closet, and sometimes is con- 
cealed in an innocent looking trunk. Of course, the 
instrument is not connected with any telegraph wire and 
the whole thing is a fake. We do not know what the 
record is as to the loss of money by any one individual, 
but we have heard of an amount of $85,000, $40,000, 
$29,000, and it is supposed that the smaller amounts 
running from $500 to $1,500, are like the leaves of the 
forest. 
This club is very frequently held over the head of the 



382 



"sucker" by the wire tapper to keep him from prosecut- 
ing. The criminal stands ready to go into court and 
turn state's evidence on the victim, whom he will en- 
deavor to "stick" for conspiring to do a criminal act. If 




the victim who has been fleeced out of several hundred 
or several thousands of dollars has the audacity to "roar" 
the head of the wire tapping gang says : 
"Very well — we'll both go down together." 



383 



It is this threat that is responsible for the few prosecu- 
tions in so-called wire tapping cases. 

The most picturesque figures in the wire tapping busi- 
ness, as Detective Wooldridge found it, were O. M. 
Stone and Archibald Donaldson. Both were solid-look- 
ing fellows, whose 
very appearance was 
enough to inspire 
confidence. In the 
language o f the 
grafter, they "looked 
like ready money." 

Stone was the man 
with the brain and 
the training in things 
telegraphic and Don- 
aldson was the man 
with the front. An 
incident concerning 
each will illustrate 
their peculiarities. 
Once when Detective 
Wooldridge was 

searching for evi- 
dence against Stone 

his clues led hi minto the basement of the Trades' build- 
ing. The detective was accompanied by three expert elec- 
tricians. Each of the men carried a candle and the bur- 
rowed for nearly two blocks on the trail of a wire which 
they had reason to believe had been laid by Stone. Instead 
of one wire they found three and they were entangled wiHi 




Oska M. Stone. 



334 



other wires in such an intricate manner that none but a 
clever expert could discover them. At places the wires 
seemed to stop suddenly. Then they would appear again, 
doubling back over the same road the investigators had 
trailed them. The experts who accompanied Wooldridge 

on this subterranean 
trip declared they had 
never seen so clever a 
job of wiring. 

On another of his 
raids Wooldridge en- 
tered the fake pool- 
room where the suck- 
er was supposed to 
invest his money to 
find Donaldson sit- 
ting calmly amid his 
bunch of pluggers. 
While these men, who 
are in reality clever 
enough as actors to 
hold their own on the 
dramatic stage, waved 
their hands frantic- 
ally, shouted out bets 
and eddied and surged about the man who was recording 
their bets, old man Donaldson, looking for all the world 
like three hundred pounds of human benevolence, his 
cigars ranged alongside of him and a fatherly smile upon 
his white-bearded countenance, calmly surveyed the 
scene. 




Archie Donaldson. 



385 



"His very front, his beaming eye, his long flowing 
white beard and his monstrous bulk were enough to in- 
spire confidence," said Wooldridge. "It almost seemed 
like a shame to arrest him — he was so good at his 
game." 

Not always in or- 
der to beat the races 
by holding up the re- 
sult until the conspir- 
ators can get their 
money wagered do 
the wire tappers ap- 
ply their talents. One 
of the most elaborate 
systems of tapped 
wires ever found by 
Wooldridge and his 
men in their numer- 
ous raids was devised 
to serve Board of 
Trade quotations to 
the bucket shops. It 
was early in Novem- 
ber, 1903, that Woold- 
ridge got scent of the 

system, which he at once recognized as the work of O. 
M. Stone. 

Five offices were raided in one day and one of the 
prisoners held as an associate of this king of the wire tap- 
pers was a woman. The combination, which was proved 
to be. an extensive scheme to defraud the Western Union 




E. B. Myers. 



386 



Telegraph Company, had been in operation for about 
three weeks. Apparatus to the value of $10,000 was 
confiscated. 

Stone called his scheme the Independent Telegraph 
Company and it certainly was "independent" to an ad- 
vanced degree. It was so terribly independent that it 
didn't need wire to telegraph with and it wasn't in pos- 
session of wireless equipment, either. It was so inde- 
pendent that it just went along and helped itself to the 
service of the greatest telegraph company in the world. 

A small army followed the detective when he swooped 
down on the wire tappers. With him on this particular 
day were thirteen other policemen, ten linemen and seven 
telegraph operators. 

The principal office of the sweetly independent Inde- 
pendent Company was found in Room 419. Imperial 
building, 260 Clark street. Across the hall in Room 420 
was the workshop and central switchboard, and in 408 
was the private office of Stone and J. O. Lewis, one of 
his confederates. In a small bedroom in the Reynolds 
hotel at 249 Clark street, was found another set of 
instruments with Mrs. L. Haynes in charge. At 182 
State street and at Room 414 Rialto building were dis- 
covered two more branches of Stone's system. 

Immediately upon arresting the inmates of these wire 
tapping dens Wooldridge set his operators down to the 
instruments and asked them to see what they could get 
over the wires. To their surprise the tickers began at 
once to tell them the story of how things were progress- 
ing over in the Board of Trade pits. Again they were 
surprised to find the apparatus so arranged that this 



387 



information could be transmitted to scores of bucket 
shops and other outlawed establishments throughout the 
city. 

The work of Stone and his confederates was a source 
of wonderment to the electricians present. They said 
they now understood how he acquired his title of being 
the world's most expert manipulator of telegraph instru- 
ments. 

An amusing incident of the raid was this : 

While the detectives were busy gathering evidence 
against the men and the electricians were tracing wires 
and tearing out instruments, the telephone was kept con- 
stantly ringing by persons in bucket shops and other 
places who could not understand why the service had 
been cut off. Men from "Red Letter" Sullivan's shop, 
which was later to fall before an onslaught by Wool- 
dridge, called in person to see what was the trouble. 

On the door of the office occupied by Stone were the 
words : "John O. Martin & Co., Brokers." As Wool- 
dridge entered at the head of his men he reached quicklv 
for a switch on one of the sending instruments, thirikliig 
to set it for one of the operators to experiment before the 
foxy Stone could put the entire system out of service by 
one of his clever tricks, and thus spoil the chance of gath- 
ering evidence to convict him and his gang. 

Stone leaped forward and, divining Wooldridge's pur- 
pose, attempted to wrench the entire instrument from its 
base. Foiled in this he fought the detective to get at 
the switchboard in order to break the circuits, but his 
effort was a failure. On the roof of the Imperial build- 
ing the race wire of the Western Union Telegraph Com- 



388 



pany was found tapped and the wires of the Cleveland 
Telegraph Company were connected with for market 
news. 

As usual Stone put up a brave front when arrested, 
•and sadly told the newspaper reporters how greatly he 
was being abused. 

"I am unjustly accused," the wily old confidence man 
said, "I organized the Independent Telegraph Company 
and leased my wires to other persons for less money than 
was being charged by the larger corporations. What 
information I furnished my patrons I secured from the 
office of J. Ryan, a speculator, in Room 420, who has a 
leased wire from the Western Union." 

Of course, it didn't bother Stone a bit when Super- 
intendent Tubbs of the W T estern Union denied absolutely 
that Ryan received any service whatever from the com- 
pany's wires. 

Stone himself was formerly chief operator at Chicago 
for the Western Union and his intimate knowledge of 
the company's system gave them no end of trouble. Up 
to this time the wire tapper and his former employers had 
clashed on numerous occasions and the company was 
now determined to make an example of him. 

When Stone, Meyers, Lewis and Shane were arraigned 
before Justice Prindiville in the Harrison street police 
court the former two "were held to the grand jury in 
bonds of $1,000 each. J. O. Lewis was discharged for 
want of evidence to convict him on the charges of wire 
tapping and conspiracy to defraud the Western Union. 

In the meantime other ramifications of Stone's swind- 
ling system were brought to light. Letters were found 



ONE OF THE MANY 



389 



addressed to Stone which caused the arrest of A. J. 
Poindexter at his home, 3600 Indiana avenue. These 
missives disclosed information which indicated that sev- 
eral successful coups had been executed by the gang and 
that many more were contemplated. 

Poolrooms in Texas 
and Louisiana were to 
have been "cleaned 
out" by tapping their 
wires. - Plans were 
afoot for making 
hauls at San Antonio, 
Waco, Houston and 
Dallas, the poolrooms 
at these places being 
conducted by a syndi- 
cate of former Chi- 
cago bookm a k e r s. 
Outfits were shipped 
by Stone from Chi- 
cago for the purpose 
of tapping the wires. 

Following are sam- 
ples of the corre- 
spondence found by 
Wooldridge in vast volume. 

"Would like to have you come and bring a man with 
you to do an easy piece of work on a single wire. You 
can cut in within thirty feet of the poolroom and be on 
the inside all the time ; the easiest you ever heard of and 
still easier to get the money, Would like you to come 




Ao J. Poindexter. 



390 



as soon as you can. If you can come wire me under the 
name of A. F. Ransom. Don't want you to bring Peck- 
ham or anyone that knows me, to this country, as I am 
the real thing here. The money is to go three ways — 
yourself, my partner and myself. Yours truly, 

Frank D. Concannon." 

Concannon was said to be none other than Poindexter. 
Several other letters told of "killings" made in poolrooms 
where the wires had been tapped. At the time of his ar- 
rest, Poindexter was planning to "hit" the poolroom at 
Hot Springs, Ark. Here is his letter to Stone on the 
subject : 

"Here's our chance. I have entire access to W. U. 
office here. I am in electric railroad scheme with Ryan, 
the manager (to float the bonds). Now, here's our 
chance. The poolroom cable comes out of the office in 
rear of building. I can rent office so we can reach out 
of window and handle it. We can cut 'em off for one or 
two minutes and there will never be a tumble. Tbf 
money is being bet like wild-fire here. One man, Joe 
Yeager, won $63,000 yesterday and he and Arnold are 
the big betters." 

Away back in 1897 Stone was arrested in the Imperial 
building where he had tapped the gold and bond ticker 
from the east. He was supposed to be operating a pri- 
vate service system, but in reality rich profits were 
reaped, according to the police, by persons whom he had 
stationed at the other ends of his wires. 

Stone set up a strong defense to the charge, claiming 
he had never touched the wires in question and the tele- 



391 



graph company was given a lively legal battle before it 
secured an injunction from the federal court restraining 
him from further operations. 

Again, on January 3, 1900, Stone was arrested — this 
time also in the Imperial building. With him were ar- 
rested J. W. Turner and Louis Hart. 

The raid was the result of information that several 
poolrooms had been patronized during the week by men 
with advance information on the races. In two instances 
the poolrooms were compelled to close up shop in order 
to guard against the men who were literally taking their 
money from them in bundles. Despite the watchfulness 
of some of the larger establishments, who employed a 
small army of private detectives, the operators were 
making further inroads every day. 

When the telegraph company made complaint to the 
police department Detective Wooldridge was assigned 
on the case. He assured himself that the advance infor- 
mation being used in an effort to break the bookmakers 
was being furnished by wire tappers. And where there 
were any wire tappers he felt sure that there in charge 
of the gang he would find his old friend Stone. He 
ascertained that Stone was in the city and with Detective 
Schubert went in search of the old fox. They placed 
him under arrest a few minutes before the San Francisco 
and New Orleans races came in, and that afternoon there 
were no strangers with large rolls and sure tips around 
the Chicago poolrooms. 

An old-time telegrapher, who had known Stone for 
years, said to Detective Wooldridge at that time: 

"Five years ago I saw Stone cleaning up $30,000 a 



392 



week, but he spent his money like water, with the result 
that the race track people and the telegraph companies 
kept sleepless watch on him. Then he turned to stock 
speculation. I don't believe. that man ever actually cut 
a wire. He is the inventor of numerous appliances for 
obtaining results by induction. Indeed, his inventions 
are many, and he has a reputation of being a wizard with 
regard to electricity. Any of the big news agencies or 
telegraph companies would take him on at a fancy salary 
if he would 'abandon his crooked ways. Why, I remem- 
ber when you could w T alk into his operating room where 
there would be a dozen men sending and receiving and 
you couldn't hear a sound. He had every instrument 
deadened. Once he got it into his head that he'd like 
to start an independent telephone company, so he just 
strung wires all over the down town district or borrowed 
some already standing without permission of the owners. 
Such a thing as asking the city for a permit never oc- 
curred to Stone. He used a powerful dynamo, but no- 
body ever could find out where it was located. Stone 
refused to tell where his feed wire started." 

Louis Hart, who was arrested with Stone, was cred- 
ited with being the original "ringer" man. It is said 
that Hart was the first man to enter a horse under a 
false name in a race as a means of making a killing. 
Owing to the fact that the police were unable to find 
that Stone had on this occasion actually connected ap 
any of his wire and put his instruments into commission 
no conviction resulted from the raid, but Stone was not 
out of trouble long. 

In a few weeks he became superintendent and general 



393 

manager of an elaborately fitted up "bunco den." This 
unique and expensive establishment was located in the 
building at No. 16 Pacific avenue, across the street from 
the board of Trade. Stone and his associates had rented 
two offices, No. 23 on the second floor, and No. 53 on the 
fifth floor. . As was his custom when making such raids 
Detective Wooldridge had with him an expert electrician 
and telegrapher. They went to work on the telegraph 
and telephone instruments found in Room 23, but could 
discover nothing wrong until Wooldridge went up 
through the building and pounded on the door of Room 
53, which was located immediately above the other, but 
two floors removed. No response came from the room 
and the detective turned to Stone, saying: 

"Open that door or we will get an ax and chop it open." 

"It's not my office," responded Stone, "My office is 
down stairs where you were a moment ago." 

"All right," said Wooldridge. "Borrow an ax from 
the engineer, boys, and we'll pay a call here." 

With the prospect before him of the havoc that might 
be wrought inside if the detective entered in anger, and 
with an ax in hand, Stone acknowledged ownership of the 
office and unlocked the door. 

This upper office was found to be fitted up similarly 
to the one below. It was the "other end" of Stone's 
lines of teleg*raph and telephone wires. Two wires ran 
out of the window. One was traced to the roof where it 
was merely "grounded" and the other ran to the office 
below. 

While this investigation was under way Detective Wool- 
dridge discovered a vault in one corner of the room, 



394 



After much parleying it was unlocked, but not before 
threats were used on Stone in place of argument. The 
sight that met the officers' gaze astonished them. The 
iron strong box contained several telegraph instruments, 

a public telephone and 
a ticker. The officers 
summoned the own- 
ers of the ticker and 
compelled them to re- 
move their machine 
and the telephone 
company was asked 
to remove its instru- 
ment, the explanation 
of Detective Wool- 
dridge being that 
both instruments 
were being used in a 
confidence game. 

While the investi- 
gation of the den was 
under way the swin- 
dlers made one of 
their stage plays. A 
short, heavy-set man rushed into the office and, assum- 
ing a highly important and business-like air, said to 
Stone : 
"Send over my telephones to-day — I need them.' , 
Then he quickly left the office, but not before he had 
been recognized by Wooldridge as Eddie Dunne, one of 
the smoothest and nerviest wire-tappers in the business. 




Frank Dunn, alias Eddie Dunn. 



395 



Here again the police had to content themselves with 
putting a confidence parlor out of business, because 
their visit had netted them nothing in the way of direct 
evidence that anybody had been swindled. 

The favorite method of getting suckers for the fake 
wire tapping game is to advertise for a man with $1,000 
or some other special amount to invest. The advertise- 
ment informs that he will have full control of his money. 
A typical experience by a man who answered one of 
these "ads," was that of S. L. SeabroOk, 4750 Lake ave- 
nue. Mr. Seabrook was attracted by the "ad" June 3, 
1 90 1, and he replied to it. A meeting was arranged be- 
tween him and Frank Cain at the Grand Pacific hotel. 

At this conference Cain unfolded to Seabrook the de- 
tails of his scheme to get rich suddenly. It was the same 
old story of tapping the wire leading into a poolroom, 
holding up the result until the $1,000 could be placed at 
long odds and then sending the result along to the un- 
suspecting bookmakers, who would pay the bet without 
a murmur, unless for wonderment at the sagacity of the 
man with the $1,000. 

Seabrook was induced to visit the eighth floor of the 
Western Union building, where he was told by Cain to 
wait while he went to the floor above. Soon he returned 
with a man who wore no hat nor coat and who supposedly 
was one of the hundreds of operators employed by the 
company on the floor from which he came. 

As a matter of fact, Detective Wooldridge discovered 
after taking up the case that the man was merely a 
piember of the gang of conspirators, who had left hi? 



396 



hat and coat in the wash room on the ninth floor in order 
to deceive the intended victim. 

But Seabrook pretended to be not in the least suspic- 
ious and listened with great interest while the bogus 
operator explained that, with the assistance of an oper- 
ator friend and confederate in New' York he could hold 
up the race returns from Gotham to Chicago, signal the 
winners so that the bets could be recorded in time and 
then start his end of the Western Union Telegraph sys- 
tem to plugging along again in the same old rut. 
. His scheme was a beautiful one. It was so beautiful 
and the story so interesting that Mr. Seabrook told it 
to the police and the officials of the telegraph com- 
pany. An investigation proved that the coatless and hat- 
less man was not an employe of the company, so Detect- 
ive Wooldridge, who was assigned on the case, concluded 
that it was a case of fake pool room. Seabrook was 
instructed to keep an appointment with the man Cain 
that he had made for the next day to test the scheme. 
He was led to a room in the rear of John Sheehan's sa- 
loon, 2918 Cottage Grove avenue. Twelve men lounged 
about the place and, evidently familiar with the plans, 
moved briskly about when Seabrook and Cain entered. 
They began to make large bets at a little window at one 
end of the room, leading to another apartment. From 
this second room could be heard the click of telegraph 
instruments, while an operator called off the results. The 
signal was given, as indicated by Cain, and although 
Seabrook did not bet the horse namedwon. What really 
was the case was that there was no such beast as Cain 
named running anywhere on any track, Suckers are 



3i;7 



not habitually familiar with the names of. race horses, 
and after you get them as far as they had Seabrook you 
might as well yell macaroni at them as McChesney — 
so long as you don't howl loud enough to bring them out 
of their trance. At any rate they told Seabrook that 
'The" horse had won and at odds of 60 to 1. 

All of which was enough to give heart palpitations to 
almost any sucker. But Seabrook was not a sucker any 
more, now, he was an assistant policeman, so he grew en- 
thusiastic over the chance to make $60,000 so easily, and 
promised to return next day with the necessary thousand 
to bet. His friend Cain was simply delighted. He even 
thought it might be fixed up with the boys in New York 
to have the same horse run the next day and have the 
same odds on him too. Which Mr. Seabrook commented 
would be " right down lovely " of Mr. Cain. 

At the appointed hour on the following day Seabrook 
and Cain appeared. The room was filled with men study- 
ing the list of entries posted about the room, and in 
figuring on the margins of their dope sheets. 

Seabrook, on the advice of the detective, had gone to 
the pool-room and had told the promoter of the game 
that he was ready to put up the $1,000. When he 
entered, he saw a dozen or more men clamoring for an 
opportunity to place their money on a race, while tel- 
egraph instruments were clicking and clerks in their 
shirt sleeves were busily taking down advance tips from 
every race track in the country. The appearance of the 
place indicated that a regular pool-room was running in 
full blast. The names of horses running at the eastern 
tracks, and also at the local tracks, with the odds on 



398 

each, were conspicuously posted on the walls, and the 
official announcer was calling off the results. 

Detective Wooldridge was accompanied by Detectives 
Dubach, Herts, Breternitz, Sederberg, Walley, Schubert 
and McGrath. They appeared at the alleged pool-room 
promptly at the hour previously arranged with Seabrook. 
They made their way to the interior, and just as Archie 
Donaldson, who was announcing the results, cried out, 
"The horses are at the post!" Wooldridge bounded in 
and said "Stop a minute ! Put $5,000 on Sidney Lucas." 

Instantly there was wild excitement, and every one 
tried to escape. This was impossible, however, as all 
the exits were barred by officers who notified the inmates 
that they were under arrest. Twenty-five men were 
taken into custody and conveyed to the Harrison Street 
Station in patrol wagons. 

Among those taken in the raid were Frank Dubois, 
who was well known to the police as a swindler, and 
who was then under bonds for perpetrating a confidence 
game on a La Salle street broker, in which he secured 
$20,000, it is said, by means of a bogus mining deal. 
Ed. Dunne, a notorious wire tapper and confidence man, 
who had been arrested once before on a charge of 
swindling a woman out of $1,500, was also among them, 
as well as George Moore, promoter of the game; Harry 
Nelson, cashier, and J. E. Murray, alias Eugene Munger. 

The twenty-five men were taken to the Harrison Street 
Station and booked on twelve charges each, making a 
total of three hundred charges. The police made a 
thorough examination of the premises, where the alleged 
pool-room was in operation, and found that the telegraph 



399 



instruments were not connected with any wires that ran 
outside of the building, and that the tickers were 
operated by hand, showing it to be one of the boldest and 
most barefaced swindles unearthed in a long time, and 
that the whole scheme was but a conspiracy to swindle 
innocent people out of their money. 

When the officers reached the Harrison Street Station 
with the prisoners, there was no court in session and 
only one desk sergeant on duty, and they were held until 
the next morning when formal complaints were made 
and their names were registered on the arrest book, 
while the warrant clerk was busily making out the proper 
papers. 

At eleven o'clock the Chief of Police and Detective 
Wooldridge were served with a notice- that a writ of 
habeas corpus in behalf of the prisoners had been sued 
out by Attorney Richard Wade, and they were sum- 
moned to appear with the men before Judge Brentano at 
two o'clock. Promptly at the hour all were present, 
the state being represented by A. J. Barnett of the 
state's attorney's office. There were also two- attorneys 
present from the city prosecutor's office. Judge Bren- 
tano asked what the charges were, and was told that the 
prisoners were charged with conspiracy to defraud, con- 
ducting a confidence game, keeping a pool-room, being 
inmates of a gaming room, being decoys and runners of 
a pool-room, keeping a gambling house, vagrancy. 
These were the state charges. The city charges were as 
follows : keepers of a pool-room and being inmates there- 
of, gaming and keeping gaming devices, visitors of a 
gaming house, vagrancy and disorderly conduct. 



400 



The court then asked for the complaints, and was told 
that the warrant clerk had not had time to make them out. 
but that they were being drawn as rapidly as possible. 
Then the judge wanted to know whether the men were 
booked, and was told that they were. The court, who. 
was seeking this information from Detective Wooldridge, 
then told the officer that he would give him three minutes 
to get the arrest book from the Harrison Street Station. 
He increased the time to five minutes, and then to ten 
minutes, but being told that the book probably was in 
use in some other court, the judge then said he would 
give the officer until three o'clock to produce it. 

At that hour the book was brought into court by Desk 
Sergeant Primm, who testified to the booking of the 
men. Judge Brentano became irate when he heard that 
the men were not booked the evening before, and scored 
th police quite severely, declaring they had no right to 
lock up and keep all night respectable citizens whose 
families were worrying over their absence. The officer 
and the State's Attorney attempted to explain to the 
court that the men were caught in the act of conducting 
a conspiracy and swindling game, and that many of 
them were well known to the police as crooks, some being 
ex-convicts and others swindlers who were then under 
bonds to the criminal court, and that their arrest was 
considered by the police officials to be one of the most 
important captures of a gang of thieves and swindlers 
that had been made in a long time. 

This, however, would not appease the court, and he 
refused to hear any more explanations on the subject. 
The State's Attorney tried to explain that the court was 



401 

sitting as an examining magistrate and that the only ques- 
tion was as to the legality of the arrest. The judge re- 
fused to listen any further, and ordered the men released 
on their own recognizance under bonds of $100 each to 
appear in court the following Tuesday at 2 p. m. He 
also ordered that $64 in currency, which had been seized 
in the fake pool-room and taken from Harry Nelson, 
the cashier, to be held as part of the evidence against 
the men, be returned. 

Sunday intervened, and on Monday at eleven o'clock 
none of the prisoners appeared at the Harrison Street 
Station, and consequently no action could be taken 
against them. On the next day at two o'clock all the 
men were present in Judge Brentano's court again. 
In the meantime the judge had become more conversant 
with the facts, and decided, after hearing the charges 
made by Detective Wooldridge and the other officers, 
to hold the men under bonds to appear in the Harrison 
Street Police Court, June 20. In order to be sure that 
they would appear on that day before the police justice, 
he caused them to give bonds to him to appear in his 
court on June 21. 

In the meantime the officers went before the grand 
jury with the evidence they had in their possession 
and secured indictments against all the men they had 
arrested, on charges of conducting a pool-room and 
keeping a common gaming house. 

When the men again appeared in Judge Brentano's 
court, deputy sheriffs with capiases invaded the court 
room and arrested every one of them. They all gave 



402 

bond for their appearance, and on July 13 they were 
arraigned in Judge Tuley's court for trial. 

They were represented by four able attorneys. After 
an hour spent in wrangling over an effort to quash 
the indictments, the cases were submitted to the court, 
and four of the promoters and leaders were adjudged 
guilty, and they were fined $100 each. These were: 
Archibald Donaldson, John J. Sheehan, George Moore 
and Harry Nelson. 

This disposed of the charges of keeping a common 
gaming house under which the twenty-five men were 
indicted. 

This case will go down in history as one of the 
most unique and remarkable in police and criminal an- 
nals. Here were twenty-five men arrested and held 
under three hundred charges, and every one indicted, 
something unknown before in Chicago. It had the 
effect of breaking up one of the boldest gangs of swin- 
dlers that ever infested the city. 




Measurement Of 
• ; - IhE Stretcft •:• 



THE BERTILLON SYSTEM OF IDENTIFICA- 
TION. 

If any one had been so bold as to affirm a few years 
ago that it would be possible to give such a description 
of any individual that he could be positively identified 
among all the millions of people in the world, his state- 
ments would have been met with ridicule. To-day, how- 
ever, thanks to the researches of Queletet, the Belgian 
scientist, and the subsequent labors of Dr. Alphonso Ber- 
tillon, a celebrated French anthropologist, we are able to 
give such a detailed description of any given individual 
that his identification becomes a matter of absolute cer- 
tainty. 

Although it is true that the Bertillon system of an- 
thropometric identification, as it is called, is primarily 
intended for the prevention of crime, this is only one of 
the objects of the system. In every case where the estab- 
lishment of the identity of an individual is desirable, 
whether for his own benefit or that of his family, or the 
State, this ingenious and scientific system may be applied. 
The victims of the cable car or the railroad accident, the 
slain upon the battle field, the unclaimed bodies at the 
city morgue, all present cases for which Bertillon has 
made full provision. 

In instances where the body has been mutilated be- 
yond all possibility of recognition by the usual methods 
of identification, the system would be simply invaluable. 
Further instances of its possible usefulness would have 
been the prevention of frauds on the United States Pen- 

404 



405 



sion Bureau by parties who have assumed the name and 
conditions of others, the detection of false claimants to 
estates, the prevention of the landing of the Chinese who 
come to this country bearing the name and papers of 
others of their countrymen who have returned to China. 
It requires a long acquaintance with this race to be able 
to distinguish one celestial from another, and by the 
present methods of identification it is almost impossible 
for the government officials to detect a fraud of this 
kind. 

Perhaps there is no sphere in which the benefits of the 
system would be more immediately felt than in the army, 
where it would act as a check upon desertion from the 
very first day of its introduction. In time of war, more- 
over, it would serve as an infallible identification of the 
killed and the wounded, and in subsequent years, as sug- 
gested above, it would prevent fraud upon the Pension 
Bureau of the country. The question of introduction into 
the army is being actively urged by Dr. Paul R. Brown 
of the United States army. 

The Bertillon system of measuring criminals has re- 
ceived its most extensive trial in France, where it has 
been carried out over ten years with thoroughness for 
which the police of the country is famous. It is in gen- 
eral use in Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, and several 
South American republics, and is being tested in Eng- 
land. It was introduced into the United States by Major 
R. W. McLaughry in 1887, and is now in operation in 
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and the state of Massachu- 
setts. It was adopted by the Police Department of the 
City of New York on March 6, 1896, and in May of the 



406 

same year its use was made obligatory in all the prisons 
and penitentiaries of the State of New York. 

The accompanying illustrations show the practical op- 
eration of the Bertillon system at police headquarters in 
Chicago. It varies in no essential particulars from that 
of the countries and states above mentioned, only such 
slight modifications as were suggested by local conditions 
having been made in minor details. The system is made 
of three distinct parts. First, the measure of certain un- 
changeable "bony lengths" of the body; second, a careful 
description of the features of the face; third, a careful 
localization of all the scars and marks upon the body. 
Of these three the first records are by far the most im- 
portant, because the most permanent and unalterable. 

Bertillon states that the experience of ten years has 
shown the "almost absolute immutability" of the human 
frame after the twentieth year is past. The great di- 
versity of dimensions of which the skeleton shows in dif- 
ferent objects, and the facility and precision with which 
it may be measured, render this means of identification 
by far the most reliable that could be adopted. Increas- 
ing age and mutilation will produce changes in the feat- 
ures, but they cannot affect the measurement of the 
frame. The analysis of the features of the face, and the 
description and localization of scars upon the body, add 
their accumulated testimony to the unchanging records 
of the measuring apparatus. 

The bony or skeleton lengths adopted by the police de- 
partment as admitting of easy measurements and descrip- 
tions are as follows : The length and width of the head ; 
the cheek width ; the length of the foot, the middle .finger. 



407 

the little finger and the cubit, that is, from the elbow 
to the tip of the middle finger; the height standing; 
the height seated ; and the stretch ; and in addition to this 
the right ear length, which, while not a skeleton measure, 
remains virtually through life. 

The apparatus which is used for taking these dimen- 
sions is very simple, as will be seen by reference to the 
illustrations. In taking the height the criminal is made to 
stand barefooted with his back to the wall and his back- 
bone to the left of the graduated scale. The square is 
then brought down with its vertical edge in contact with 
the vertical edge of the scale and the height read off. 
About three feet left to the scale is a vertical strip which 
projects about an inch from the wall, and opposite side 
of the scale is a horizontal scale with long graduation 
lines, as shown in the illustration. The criminal, with 
his back still to the wall, is made to extend his arms and 
move to the right or left until the tip of the middle finger 
of the right hand touches the vertical strip. 

The measurer then " presses the arms of the subject 
lightly against the wall and reads off the "stretch" as in- 
dicated by the middle finger tip at the left hand. The 
trunk measurement is taken, or the height of a man when 
seated, is taken by placing a stool against the wall, seat- 
ing the criminal squarely upon it with his back to the 
wall, and taking the height as before with the portable 
square. 

The measurements of the head are taken while the sub- 
ject is still seated and are read off on a pair of calipers 
provided with a graduated arc. In taking the length the 
left point of the calipers is held at the root of the nose, 



408 

and the right point is brought down over the back of 
the head. The thumbscrew is then tightened and the meas- 
urement checked by passing the instrument again over 
the head. The width of the head over the cheeks is taken 
in the same way. 

The measurement of the foot is taken with a caliper 
rule somewhat similar to that used by the shoemaker. 
The subject is placed on the stool, standing on his left 
foot and steadying himself. The graduated stem is 
placed against the inside of the foot with the arm fixed 
in contact of the heel, and the sliding arm is then brought 
in lightly against the toe. Care is taken as before to 
check the reading. 

In measuring the left little and middle fingers, the back 
of the caliper rule is used, two small projections being 
provided on the fixed and sliding arms. The finger to be 
measured is bent at right angles to the back of the hand, 
and the measurement is taken from the finger to the 
knuckle. 

The cubit measurement is taken from the elbow to the 
tip of the middle" finger. The forearms and hand are 
placed, with the palm of the hand downwards, upon the 
surface of the trestle on which is a caliper rule ; the edges 
of the table, the axis of the forearm and the hand, and 
the graduated stem of the ruler all being parallel. The 
elbow is placed against the fixed arm of the rule, and the 
loose arm is then brought up to the middle finger and 
the measurement read off on the scale. 

The measurement of the right ear is taken with a 
caliper rule, which has a flat fixed branch which is 
steadied by pressing it against the head, and is brought 









fr^%-.- 



:. ■■^ ^ ^jf ^,?^ y • 



Ci: 



.".. *''.•$$&& p.p. 83. ion. «-"^^>^»::.-'". 



•W BUREAU OF IDENTIFICATION NO. 

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, Chicago, III. |£: 



.• VM $ Height 






8ERTILLON MEASUREMENTS. 



Arm I Crank 



H. Length 



M.Fln. I L.rin. 



* J*'f, Criminal Record.. 



Alias 
. Crime . 



,;"*3 1 Afle ^X X ... tyi*#*eu 



.M^Mad^su. m&J/SS^eUr. °. m 

fcyv€*?..:....^~.......,^ Hair S^JHoA^ ' 



' x \S*i Oate of A.rrest 

• . *'\'Fi Scan and 
Marks 



Complexion ^O^.fismiD\J^.Sai^ 



{ No. 1 V C*^Jtetaw^ 
■< No. 2 _CU!i«rlJG4l^^^ 

( no. 3 — ; . 






— ~^fc-~ — ; f^C^> 



410 



dawn until it grazes the upper border of the ear. The 
stem is held parallel with the axis of the ear, and the 
loose arm is pushed up until it just reaches the lobe of 
the ear. 

It will be apparent to the reader from this description 
that this system will give a series of very accurate meas- 
urements. As each one is read off it is written down on 
a printed" card. 

The measurements being all taken, the next analyses 
are the features of the face. As these are liable to change 
from age or disfigurement, no measurements are taken, 
but instead, an elaborate exhaustive description is given. 
Taking the nose as an example, the profile of the bridge 
may be rectilinear, convex or concave, and the term sinu- 
ous might be aplied to qualify each of the above descrip- 
tions. Thus a nose might be convex sinuous, that is, 
might be generally convex and also somewhat undulating 
in contour. Then again each of these types might var} 
so far as its base was concerned, this being either ele- 
vated, horizontal or depressed. The subdivision might 
be carried still further by certain arbitrary marks as fol- 
lows : (Concave), concave. Concave, where in brackets 
the word would mean slightly concave, without brackets 
or underlining it would mean moderately concave, and 
underlined it would mean extremely concave. This sys- 
tem of seriation could be applied to any feature of the 
face. The eyes will vary from the pale blue of the Scan- 
dinavian to the very dark brown of the Negro. In the 
Bertillon system there are seven distinct classes of eyes 
enumerated, with nine subdivisions. The mouth, chin, 
the brow, have all been analytically classified, divided and 



411 



subdivided — even the complexion being noted in respect 
to its coloration, which may vary from the sanguineous 
coloration of the florid Englishman to the pigmentary 
coloration of a dark Italian, with all its intermediate 
graduations between the two extremes. 

The third step in registering a criminal is to make an 
exact record of all scars, marks or deformities. To assist 
in locating these on the body, certain anatomical points, 
known as "guiding points," are employed, and the par- 
ticular mark is described as being such a distance from 
one of these points. 

Finally the subject is placed before the camera, two 
negatives, a full face and profile, being taken, the pho- 
tographs are mounted in the centre of the identification 
card. 

We produce a fac-simile of the style of cards used. In 
addition to the data recorded on the face of the card, 
there is provision on the reverse side for recording the 
particulars of the names, aliases, crime, date of sentence, 
peculiarities of habit, criminal history, etc., and there 
are six ruled spaces for inserting details regarding the 
marks, scars, etc., upon the body. After each card has 
been made out in duplicate and filed, the examination is 
complete, and the department is in possession of a means 
of future identification which may be said to be absolutely 
infallible. 

The method of filing the cards adopted at the identi- 
fication bureau in Paris, over which Dr. Bertillon still 
presides, is as. follows: 

The cards are filed in two large cases, in one of which 
they are classified alphabetically, and in the other accord- 



412 

ing to measurements or anthropometrically. The latter 
case is divided horizontally into three equal compart- 
ments for lengths of head, and there are three other sub- 
divisions for the three classes of fingers, foot and cubit 
lengths. The cards are filed in boxes numbered I to 3 
according to the above leading measurements. If the 
police desire to know whether a criminal has been pre- 
viously measured, he is identified or otherwise by looking 
in the alphabetical collection ; that is, if he gives his right 
name. If the prisoner claims he has never been arrested 
before, he is measured and search is made in the measure- 
ment collection. The head is, say 187 millimeters; the 
medium head measures from 180 to 190 millimeters, so 
that the card is put in the medium class. This eliminates 
100,000 cards from 150,000 in the collection. The breadth 
of the head now being medium, two-thirds of the 50,000 
are eliminated, leaving the remainder 16,666. The mid- 
dle finger eliminated some thousands more, bringing the 
remainder down to 5,555. The length of the foot re- 
duces the number to 1.850, and the cubit length brings 
it down to 620. Following out the process in respect to 
heights, little finger, ear, trunk and stretch, the remainder 
is represented by a dozen cards which are classified by 
the color of the eye. The card is now located, and the 
photographs and facial description place identity of the 
two cards beyond the possibility of a doubt. 



THE FINGER PRINTS— SYSTEM OF IDENTI- 
FICATION. 

In 1899 a paper entitled "Finger Prints and the De- 
tection of Crime in India/' was read before the British 
Association meeting at Dover. This paper attracted a 
great deal of attention, as it was then learned that the 
employment of the Finger Print System of Identification 
was not only used in police departments, but also in 
many other lines of public business. In order to 
show the many ways in which identification by finger 
tips may be applied, we produce herewith form or record 
sheet taken of the finger tips of the right and left hands 
of a professional criminal. If you will take a magnify- 
ing glass and look at the under side of the tips of 
your fingers, you will discover 1 a number of well de- 
fined lines, and that while each finger may seem to 
closely resemble the others, with a little study you will 
note that each has a distinct individuality, as to the 
ridges or lines, so much so that Mr. E. R. Henry, C. 
S. I. (Asst. Commissioner of Metropolitan Police), of 
London, England, has succeeded in classifying them so 
that they can be placed into four types or divisions 
known as arches, loops, whorls and composites. Each 
division is then subdivided into thirty-two different 
classifications known as primary classifications, with the 
result that an expert after taking a record of a criminal, 
can at a glance determine the particular type and be 
able to file it away in its proper drawer. Should the 
criminal at any time subsequent, have his finger prints 

413 



414 FINGER PRINTS— RIGHT-HAND 



ClASSlHCATfO^ 



MALE 



31 



2S 



3/Q J3 



JoL& '<J-Jfj_ 



RIG H T HAND 



3. B font f.NGEC 



3. B. MIDDLE FIWCEK 





LETT HA NJ 



7. L fqt.e FINGER 



8. I- MIDDLE FinGEC 




1Q, I LITTLE ClNG&fl 









mm-;*--- 



LEFT HAND 



RIOHT HAW D 



Plain iwF-PE SSiCS OF The f OU» F i «Ct HtkEn Siv ul ' .«£ ' ji.Si 



n impressions of the foi» F,..c,it:, i..[« simult.neou^vt 





IMPRESSIONS TAKEN BY 


AT 


prisoVi 


•B 


Classified at central bureau by 


OATE 






tested at central bureau bv - 


O.T E 




•9 



taken and same submitted to the expert for research, 
the original imprint can be located within two minutes, 
although it may have been filed away with 100,000 other 
records. After the most thorough research extending 
over a large number of years, it has been demonstrated 
that no two persons are alike as to their finger imprints. 



USED IN ENGLAND 



415 



*ARK3 



z r / ^ ^_^ 



T&< /Lp*™*xZ, ^aSjJ* &/S3 3 for /2Cq£j4u*jL v*/ J Aal^c{ 



£- 





BERTILLON MEA3uaeMENTS • 


HEIGHT 


- /<7.^ 


ME..D LEnTh 


/<? 7 


,toot | ry / 


1 


circle yfeE. £*^o VEARS 


ENG. hGht 


S // 


width 


JrV 




/.-?. / 


peoiph ? /M/ifotrmJ 




outs » 


?yc 


CHEEK 


/-A/ 


L LIT F. 


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30RN IN 


TRUNK 


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MtENGl'H 


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tr/ r 


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PECUl 




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J5.PACE FOR PHOTOGRAPH 






rf f- /f OL i^ L 



M. 



PRISONERS SIGNAT 



One great value of this system is that the character- 
istics and classification of the linger imprints of the 
newly born babe are the same through life, no matter 
how old the person should live to be. In England the 
Finger Print System is now used practically to the 
exclusion of all others, as it is claimed the results show 



416 



WOMAN IN DETECTIVE WORK 



its great superiority, and it is being taken up in this 
country by the larger cities and penitentiaries. Through 
the courtesy of Mrs. Phil C. Holland, Asst. Manager, 
"THE DETECTIVE," the official organ of the police 




Mrs. Phil C. Holland. 



and sheriffs, and who is the greatest expert in this line 
of work in this country, we are able to present a few 
interesting details of the application of this system in 
criminal work, etc. Mrs. Holland is a pupil of John 
Kenneth Ferrier, finger print expert of the Criminal 



417 



Investigation Department, New Scotland Yard, London, 
England, and after one year's thorough study, which 
included the actual taking of ringer prints of many 
noted criminals and the practical work of classification 
at the "Four Courts'' of the St. Louis Police Depart- 
ment, she was pronounced by Mr. Ferrier, thoroughly 
competent to instruct, classify and install the system, 
and to apply it in all ways to high-grade scientific de- 
tective investigations, requiring a thorough knowledge 
of the application of certain powders and photographic 
reproductions and enlargements. 

In one of our prisons recently, a man who had just 
been sentenced was brought up and while he made no 
opposition to being measured by the Bertillon System, 
he objected strongly to having his finger impressions 
recorded. This caused the identification expert to be 
suspicious and he submitted a duplicate record to the 
Scotland Yard Police in London, with the result that 
the man was at once identified as a murderer who had 
escaped from a prison in England, and who will be 
taken back there. When confronted with the English 
record, the convict at once admitted his identity. 

An express company lost a large sum of money which 
was being sent from one point to another in a sealed 
package. During transmission the seals were broken, 
the money abstracted and the package resealed with 
wax. At first the express company were absolutely 
unable to locate the thief, but later on it was discovered 
that in resealing the package, the thief had wet his 
finger and pressed it on the warm wax, leaving a dis- 
tinct imprint. The finger impressions of all the agents 



418 

whose hands the package passed through were taken, 
with the result that the thief was easily identified, a 
confession obtained and the money recovered. 

A jewelry store was entered and valuable diamonds 
that were on display on glass trays in the windows were 
stolen. In doing this the thieves left the imprints of 
their fingers on the glass. An expert on making in- 
vestigation with a powerful magnifier, discovered the 
imprints, and by a careful photographic process was 
able to reproduce them on paper. A research being 
made among a collection of 20,000 finger print records 
revealed the fact that the prints left on the glass tray 
were those of a well-known professional burglar, whose 
^record had been taken some two years previously, while 
undergoing sentence in state prison. As a result the 
man was arrested and through him, his partner in the 
crime, resulting in a conviction and the recovery of most 
of the goods. 

The London police in investigating a burglary dis- 
covered in the pantry of a house, a partly empty bottle 
of ale, which had been full the previous day. There 
were finger prints on the bottle, which was protected by 
a cardboard shield and taken to Scotland Yard, where 
the prints of the photograph, afterwards, were found to 
correspond with those of McAllister, who had just 
previously been released from jail. McAllister on his 
arrest, in some way learned that they had his finger 
prints, and realizing their value as evidence, made a 
circumstantial admission, which led to the recovery of 
the goods, and the conviction of his partner Alexander 
Harley, on whose premises the property was found. 



MAGNIFIED FINGER PRINT 



419 








The above is an enlarged print of a right index finger, 
which we classify as an Ulnar Loop. Loops on different 
fingers are not all alike, but vary in many important char- 
acteristics, so it is a very easy matter to distinguish one 
from another. 



420 

A half empty bottle of wine was discovered in the 
room of an old woman at Asineres, France, she having 
been murdered. A close examination of the bottle re- 
vealed ringer prints, which were submitted to M. Ber- 
tillon, the great identification expert, who caused large 
photographs to be made, and who after research de- 
clared they were the imprints of a hospital attendant 
named Gale, who has since been arrested charged with 
the murder. 

Recently in London a murder was committed and in 
order to destroy any chance of detection, the murderer 
took the tin of his shoe lace and cut the tips of his fing- 
ers in all directions. He was suspected of the crime and 
arrested. The officers found blood prints on the fur- 
niture and other things in the house, where the murder 
was committed, and when the man's fingers healed, his 
prints were taken and corresponded exactly with those 
discovered by the officers; conviction followed. 

Mr. Wm. A. Pinkerton, of the famous Pinkerton's 
National Detective Agency, and without doubt one of 
the greatest criminal experts, on his return from Europe, 
in an interview published recently, says : "During my 
visit at New Scotland Yard, London, I was greatly in- 
terested in the high state of efficiency which the Finger 
Print System of Identification has reached in the police 
service of London. The Bureau of Finger Prints 
there is one of the most marvelous departments I ever 
examined. Identification of criminals has been reduced 
practically to a matter of bookkeeping. You get the 
finger print and then simply turn up your indexes and. 
you know your man at once. A criminal may shave or 



FINGER PRINTS— LEFT-HAND 



421 



grow his beard, become stout or thin, alter his appear- 
ance to a considerable extent, but the one constant fea- 
ture of his make-up is his ringer prints. The only safe 
way for criminals nowadays is to wear gloves when 
they go out on a job, for the impressions they leave 
of the fingers are found by detectives on glasses, news- 
papers, dusty tables and the slightest impression of the 
fingers on a damp table or paper can by the process in 



f,EFT HAND. 



7.— L. Fore Finger. 



8.— L. Middle Finger. 



9. — L. Eing Finger. 



10. — L. Little Finger. 











^Fold.) 



(Fold.) 



LEFT HAND. 

Plain impressions of the four fingers taken simultaneously. 



RIGHT HAND. 

Plain impressions of the four fingers taken simultaneously. 





Impressions taken by %/ % ^f (T^O^^C^C &»»* 




Prison 


Governor's Signature ( 


Date 




Classified a. ff.C, Rojieia^by__ fa? /^ £f . 


Date 




Tested at H.O. Registry by 


Date 





(3fi7«) 



(P.T.O, 



422 

use at the Yard, serve as an adequate means of identi- 
fication." 

Where large bodies of Chinese or negroes are employed 
on government or public work, it is often difficult to stop 
men from - representing themselves as being other men, 
and signing the pay roll to obtain the wages due others. 
Nowadays the thumb print of each employee is taken 
and when he comes up to draw his money and there is 
any doubt as to his identity, he makes a fresh imprint, 
which easily disposes of the matter. Rich men dispos- 
ing of their property by will, in addition to their regular 
signature, also place the' finger prints of both hands on 
the paper, thereby insuring the authenticity of the docu- 
ment. An easy way to protect a check, is to put the 
thumb print where the figures are written in. 

Airs. Holland, believes that within a few years all spe- 
cial transportation sold at low conditional rates by rail- 
roads, will be impressed with the finger print of the pur- 
chaser, thereby preventing the sale or the disposal of 
the ticket to a scalper. 

Professor Galton, the great expert, calculates that the 
chances of any two sets of finger prints being alike is 
one in 16,400,000,000. As it is estimated there are not 
2,000,000,000 people in the world, it looks as if this 
system is practically infallible. 



FAKE DOCTORS. 

For every ailment known to medicine there are a 
thousand "cures," and for all the victims of disease 
fakirs exist who would brutally send them to certain 
death to get their small hoardings. 

The conscienceless scoundrelism of the fake doctor 
is made more cruel by his methods of holding out the 
most cheering hopes for the recovery of his "patients" 
while he is depriving them of their money. 

Emboldened by success until he himself almost be- 
lieves the lying advertisements his tainted money pro- 
cures the fake doctor occupies richly furnished suites 
of offices in the big sky-scrapers, or limited by his own 
ignorance and a lack of funds he has his "office" in 
some dirty little shop in a dark alley. 

Wherever he is and whatever the extent of his opera- 
tions, his methods are the same. Some newspapers are 
almost supported by his advertisements. Flaring bills 
and painted signs announce to the public from bill- 
boards, house-tops, rocks on the hills, railroad tanks and 
other conspicuous spots that "Dr. Cure-All, the eminent 
specialist, guarantees to cure all persons of every malady 
with which they are afflicted, or failing to do so, will 
return their money." 

If the signs are to be believed the learned doctor is 
prompted solely by benevolence. He wishes to cure 
poor, suffering humanity because love wells from his 
noble heart and the pain of a sick child moves his tender 
soul to deep compassion. 

423 



424 

He advertises "cordials," "red drops," "rejuvenators, 5 * 
"elixirs," "Repuna," "Cataract pills, for the vest pocket," 
and infallible remedies for every ill that flesh is heir to. 
To make his claim "strong" the doctor warns invalids 
against imitators and impostors who try to humbug 
the public by offering, substitutes for his marvelous 
remedy. 

His stock claims are : "Cure in three days," "without 
change of diet or habits," "after all others have failed," 
"youth restored," "without mercury or other injurious 
drugs used by regular practitioners." Rely upon this 
certainty, that all who advertise are fakers. There are 
no exceptions. They are all quacks. Sometimes they 
accidentally effect cures. If they do no one is more 
surprised than themselves. 

The favorite bait for catching the sufferers is a catalog 
of symptoms. "Head-ache, back-ache, depressed feel- 
ing, the blues," and a hundred other slight irregularities 
that every person, no matter how healthy, occasionally 
is subject to, are described as "symptoms" of the malady 
the "Doctor's" remedy cures. 

Nearly every "symptom" of every known disease and 
of health itself, is included in the list, so that whatever 
feelings one may have he will find them included. Some 
applicants require only the simplest kind of treatment, 
such as any medical student could prescribe. It is not 
surprising that such are cured. 

When a patient presents himself, it is not the policy 
of these men to say there is nothing or little the matter. 
The doctor puts on a grave expression on first seeing 
the applicant, and with anxiety and commiseration in 



425 



his voice, to say : "Ah ! you needn't tell me what ails 
you ; I see at a glance ; but it's fortunate you called on 
me even though it is so bad a case. I've treated patients 
as far gone as you, and I can cure you ; but it's lucky 
you came." And so it is lucky — for the doctor ! The 
applicant's fears are worked upon, and before he leaves 
the office he fancies himself on the brink of the grave, 
and is ready to submit to a thorough fleecing. 

If "no charge for advice" is the plan of operation, 
the patient is given a bottle of medicine for which he 
is asked from one to ten dollars — the price is usually 
varied according to the amount the victim can afford — 
one "doctor" expressed it in a non-professional conver- 
sation as "sizing the man's pile," — and advice given to 
call when that is used up. The stuff has little, if any, 
medicinal property. 

Detective Wooldrige has known the statement to be 
made that a deleterious compound is actually administered 
with the intention of producing a debilitating influence. 
Doubtless this is in rare instances, but it would be done 
by most of them if necessary to retain the patient. His 
own terrors, however, are a sufficient guarantee of his 
remaining in the doctor's power. On the second visit 
the patient is either told that the medicine is having a 
favorable effect or that he needs a more powerful and 
proportionately more costly remedy. The plan is to 
extort the largest possible sum from the victim. In 
some cases, when his ready money gives out, he is cau- 
tiously told that he must procure more in some way or 
his case be given up. 

When a person has no more money and feels that 



426 



death stares him in the face, if he cannot procure it, he 
is apt to resort to criminal means to do so. Parents or 
employers have been robbed for this purpose. This is 
the very thing the victim is expected to do, though the 
quack, of course never says so. When nothing further 
can be extorted the patient is either cured or told he is— 
or turned adrift. Then he may in sheer despair, consult 
some reputable physician, or end his life by suicide. 

Where there is really need for treatment originally, 
the plan is substantially the same. All is grist that 
comes to these mills. There is a plan sometimes pursued 
of getting rid of patients who persist in "annoying" the 
doctors after their funds have become exhausted. They 
are told to seek a change of climate, go to Colorado, 
make a change in their habits or to get married. 

In the disease which these quacks claim to cure with- 
out mercury, this dangerous mineral is really the article 
used, and it is administered by them all. In their hands, 
too, it is more dangerous than in those of ordinary phy- 
sicians. They use it more lavishly and with no consid- 
eration for variation of constitutional powers. This is 
also the chief ingredient in the various "specifics" for 
the disease. 

Avoid advertising doctors under all circumstances. 
They are mainly men without medical knowledge, or a 
mere smattering picked up casually ; often drunken vaga- 
bonds, brutal and devoid of conscience; sometimes 
ashamed of their miserable calling, and practicing it un- 
der assumed names ; or in some cases the outcasts of the 
regular profession — men whose want of ability or dissi- 
pated habits left them without legitimate practice, who, 



427 



caring only to make money, adopted this disgraceful 
trade. 

There is an occasional man of this kind whose diploma 
is genuine, though the majority of diplomas are second 
hand ones, with the original name altered to the new 
owner, or the old name adopted by the new owner. 
Where the diploma is genuine, it only proves the man to 
be less qualified than the vast majority of the most ob- 
scure legitimate practitioners. 

There is no advertising doctor who can treat these 
diseases better than the regular physicians ; there is no 
valuable knowledge possessed by them that is not taught 
every medical student ; their vaunted discoveries are 
bosh ; their "long experience" amounts to nothing, for 
their operations are so reckless and without judgment 
that their treatment seldom improves. 

There is only one excuse for patronizing them. Most 
persons are reluctant to confide to physicians who are 
acquainted with them. They feel disgraced and prefer to 
trust their secret to strangers. This excuse is an error; 
the secret is sometimes used by quacks to extort money 
by threats of exposure to his friends, while a family phy- 
sician would, without doubt, have held the secret sacred. 

Do not neglect the aid of a man known and respected 
to trust to the uncertainty of strangers. 

In the country, local practitioners may insert a mere 
card in the local papers — if more than this they are liable 
to be judged as quacks, and we should so judge them. So 
long as reputable doctors do not advertise it is safe tc 
apply this test, and it is considered a point of honor in 
the profession. 



428 FAKE DOCTORS' METHODS 

"CURES" BY MAIL. 

The best physicians do not, and will not prescribe by 
mail. Persons who offer to do so are generally not reg- 
ularly educated physicians, but "merely turn their hands 
to doctoring" because they believe it is profitable. One 
complaint made to Detective Wooldridge was about a 
chap who failed at everything else, then got another man 
to write him a medical book, dubbed himself "doctor," 
and offered to treat all real and imaginary diseases, 
"after all other physicians had failed." 

Those of the advertising doctors who have any legal 
right to the title are the scum and dolts of the universi- 
ties, or have got through by paying large fees, sometimes 
without any real study or preparation other than enough 
to give the medical college a decent excuse for graduat- 
ing them. Good city physicians have all the practice 
they want without drumming up patients. 

Patients cannot be treated by strangers at a distance, 
though those strangers possess the greatest medical 
knowledge. With the patient before him, and every op- 
portunity to examine each symptom, even the best 
medical men are often in doubt as to the exact nature 
of the disease and the best treatment. Symptoms re- 
quiring directly opposite treatment are often so nearly 
alike that they cannot be distinguished by ordinary ob- 
servers. Able physicians usually refrain from attend- 
ing members of their own family, merely because they 
fear their feelings may prevent the coolness and nicety 
of judgment they deem necessary. 

All physicians know how important is a long acquaint- 
ance with the patient's constitution, habits, inherited 



429 



predisposition to sickness, and other things; how dif- 
ferently the same medicine may affect different patients, 
and how medicine and treatment should be carefully 
adjusted to each individual! Yet unprincipled ignor- 
amuses will urge you to let them cure you without see- 
ing you, merely from a description of your symptoms 
given by you — the last person in the world to give them 
correctly. 

No honest physician would trust himself to treat you 
for any serious disorder on your guess of symptoms. 
No physician would trust the greatest or wisest doctor 
to treat him on his own description of his symptoms. 
This is the universal verdict of the medical profession. 
If you think the statements of any trumpeter of his own 
merits as a doctor more worthy of confidence, you are 
sure to be robbed and may be poisoned. 

Where the whole system of treatment has a wrong 
foundation every one adopting that system must be in- 
cluded in Detective Wooldridge's denunciation. 

The plan of treating diseases by mail, as those adver- 
tising doctors propose to do is criminal malpractice. 
Any man offering to treat serious diseases in this man- 
ner is proved by that one fact alone to be either too 
ignorant or too reckless to be trusted to treat you. 

The mode of operating is much the same with these 
advertisers, whether they spend thousands of dollars in 
a single week for advertising, and have a large number 
of clerks to attend to affairs while they air themselves 
in the city parks, or more humbly invest a few dollars 
in advertising and circulars, and mix ''doctoring" with 



-130 



the sale of swindling playing cards, obscene books and 
recipes for artificial honey, or burning fluid. 

The dodge is to write a letter in reply to applicants 
who forward "symptoms," to the effect that the symp- 
toms indicate the need of immediate attention, or death 
may soon result, and the fact that the "doctor" can posi- 
tively cure you if the case is immediately placed in his 
hands. The disease is usually stated by him to be can- 
cer, or disease of the lungs, liver, or some other vital 
organ. 

With all advertising doctors the first fee is but the 
beginning of the expense. When the first supply of 
medicine is used up, if no benefit is experienced, the 
patient writes for further assistance, and is told to send 
more money for stronger medicines. This is continued 
until the victim will not pay any more. As to getting 
money back, should he be dissatisfied with the results 
of treatment, that is impossible. Even when advertis- 
ers promise that "cures shall be legally guaranteed," 
the only way to recover money is by a suit at law, and 
few care to adopt this method of recovery; which would 
be defeated in nearly ninety cases out of a hundred by 
some clever quibble on the defendant's part. 

The Traveling Quack. 

It would be amusing, were it not sorrowful, to see the 
swarms of poor nervous mortals that flock in companies 
and regiments after every self-dubbed peripatetic "doc- 
tor" who wanders through the country, especially in the 
South and West, sticking up his sign at a hotel, tem- 
porarily, and scattering huge bills — proclaiming his su- 



431 

perhuman skill, his great reputation in New York and 
London, and professing to have made wonderful discov- 
eries by means of which he is able to cure every disease 
in the medical books. 

As a rule this class feed up their patients on stimu- 
lants, and keep up their hopes and faith, until their 
money is gone, and then the doctor moves on to "fresh 
fields and pastures new." Every such traveling doctor 
is positively a quack and a swindler. 

Fake Eye and Ear "Doctors." 

At times but little is heard of these, but now and then 
one of the fraternity makes a great splurge in the ad- 
vertising columns of the newspapers, at an expense of 
thousands of dollars. There are dozens of these em- 
pirics who print columns each week in all the big daily 
papers. It is needless to specify these advertisers by 
name, none possessed the skill which they so brazenly 
claimed, and their treatment in many cases resulted in 
serious injury to the patient. Whatever cures they made 
were in trifling complaints, but usually such ailments 
are aggravated by their unskillful management into 
really bad disorders. 

The whole system is one of ignorant pretense and 
barefaced extortion. The charges are extravagant, and 
fee after fee is demanded as long as the patient will sub- 
mit. To show the sliding scale upon which the quack 
estimated the value of his own services, let us give an 
incident within the knowledge of Detective Wooldridge. 

A friend of the detective, a Mr. C, applied to one of 
the "most prominent of the eye and ear 'doctors,' " in 



432 $300 JOB DONE FOR $25 

reference to treating his father for some trouble of the 

eye. 

"Well, sir," said the doctor, after hearing the case 

described, "my charge will be $300." 

"Ah, um ! I'm afraid that's a little too high for me." 
"I assure you, it's a case needing my best skill, and 

the price is really not high ; but I will be liberal — say 

$250." 

"Well, my father is somewhat troubled with his sight, 
but after all perhaps you couldn't benefit him, and there 
would be the $250 gone." 

"Oh, I'm certain I could promise a permanent cure. 
I admire your kindness toward your parent, and will 
treat him for $200." 

"But I think that too much." 

"You surely do not weigh a few paltry dollars against 
your father's welfare; but we'll call it $150." 

"No, not at present, I guess." 

"Come, now ; as I am particularly interested in this 
case, I am willing to take hold of it for a merely nomi- 
nal sum, $100." 

Mr. C. didn't engage the doctor's services even at the 
very reduced price he finally came down to — we believe 
either $50 or $25. 

Eye cups, eye sharpeners, and other instruments for 
improving the sight are extensively advertised. That 
some of these are offered in good faith is possible, 
though most of the makers probably know little and care 
less about their real merits.^ The theories on which 
some of these instruments are constructed sound plaus- 
ible, but the best and most experienced authorities doubt 



433 



their effectiveness. Their indiscriminate use by the 
public without doubt leads to much injury, and no bene- 
fit has ever been derived from any of them. 

The devotion of some of these quacks to the cause of 
fraud and the ingeniousness employed by them to de- 
ceive is deserving of a worthier cause. Detective Wool- 
dridge dealt with one empiric known to many victims 
as Dr. Wilbur, who traveled from town to town in the 
South, advertising marvelous cures. He owned a large 
Newfoundland dog. This beautiful and affectionate 
animal was a living illustration of the soulless extremes 
to which quacks go to deceive their victims. Dr. Wil- 
bur had some surgeon remove part of the abdominal 
wall of the dog and connect his stomach to a silver plate 
which was plugged with a cork. 

The dog was given milk to drink, always, as if inad- 
vertently, in the presence of employes of hotels and' pros- 
pective victims. The animal lapped up the milk and an 
attendant withdrew the cork in the plate. The milk ran 
out into a vessel t through the hole in the plate. The 
dog whined and protested, but was made to submit to 
the unpleasant process. The cork was then replaced and 
the dog was permitted to drink the milk again. The 
second time the milk was allowed to pass the hole in the 
plate and find lodgment in the dog's stomach. 

A second withdrawal of the cork resulted in an ab- 
sence of the loss of the milk. The attendant, trained 
in his part, during the exhibition would descant on the 
"doctor's" wonderful surgical skill. Through the aid 
of societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals De- 
tective Wooldridge prevented other quacks from causing 



434 

similar butchery of dogs to furnish living advertise- 
ments for their supposed skill. This doctor's "specialty" 
was tape-worms. He would drug a victim and then 
pretend to extract the worm. The worms were imita- 
tions of the real article made by a rubber goods dealer. 

Another faker, a "Dr. Woodman," who employed an 
equally ingenious method, was put out of business by 
Detective Wooldridge. This shrewd confidence man 
had a delicate, highly sensitized electrical instrument 
which could be operated at will by a magnet sewed in 
sleeve of his coat. He traveled through rural districts 
from house to house in a stylish buggy drawn by two 
high stepping horses, and driven by a valet wearing a 
regulation uniform of brass buttons and a long coat. 

At every house he inquired about the health of the 
residents of that locality. Each unsuspecting person 
described the ailments of "old Mrs. Spandso," "old Mr. 
Smith" and other stricken neighbors. The faker sought 
out the victims and described their symptoms to them 
as the symptoms had been described to him. For in- 
stance he would say : "Let me see your tongue. Give 
me your pulse. Ah, I see, during rainy weather you 
have pains in the back. At times your memory fails 
you. You cannot eat without having a 'distressed' feel- 
ing. You don't sleep well at times, and about once a 
month you are confined to bed for several days. I will 
see if your case is curable. This instrument I have in- 
dicates the exact state of your health. If the indicator 
stops in the center the case is bad but curable ; if it goes 
all the way around there is no hope." 

Then would follow use of the "indicator." The little 



435 



electrical instrument innocently loaned itself to the 
fraud. 

Dr. Woodman applied it and caused the hand to turn 
to any point he desired. He caused it to stop at where 
he wished so he could work upon the fears of his victims 
and then "bled" them for as much money as they could 
procure. 

In many instances he obtained hundreds of dollars in 
cash or promissory notes. If notes were given they 
were made out upon a contract which provided that un- 
less a cure was had the notes would not be collected. 

The innocent country people were too ignorant of 
legal methods to know their notes were negotiable. 
After procuring them the "doctor" discounted the notes 
at the nearest bank. When they became due the victims 
were forced to pay the amounts promised regardless of 
the disappearance of "Dr. Woodman" and the failure of 
his medicines to cure them. This swindler made enough 
money to buy a $50,000 home. He is now a wealthy 
and respected resident of Cincinnati, but has adopted 
another name. His sons and daughters are prominent 
in "society." 

Humbug Nostrums. 

Procure from the medical dispensatories, or elsewhere, 
any simple stimulating compound or tonic, or take cheap 
whiskey and color it, adding any cheap stuff to give it a 
medicinal taste ; adopt any name you choose, the more 
nonsensical or mysterious the better — one having an 
Indian, Japanese or Turkish sound will be all the better: 
employ the glass-blower and printer to get up fanciful 



436 



bottles and boxes and labels and you have a stock ready 
for the "patent medicine business." 

Be sure that the package, contents included, don't cost 
over five to eight cents, assume a name, as near that of 
some noted physician as you dare and add to the end of 
it M. D., F. R. S., or D. M. D. ; write a long story about 
your great age, experience, success abroad, and how you 
effected 1,000 wonderful cures by your medicines, giving 
names in full, with residences, date, etc., but be careful 
to not blunder into giving any real name of any person 
living in the same place, and you are ready to offer your 
wares to a guillible public. 

If you connect with your medicine a touching story 
about some old mythical person, or Indian or South 
American, all the better. 

These matters arranged, advertise your medicines 
largely. Print and scatter circulars, pamphlets, and pic- 
tures by the ton, procure agents, and let them give away 
samples of your medicine. You may begin in a small 
way with a few hundred dollars, but five to ten thousand 
dollars or more will make a more brilliant show, and pro- 
duce larger returns. 

You will then reach a multitude of weak, nervous, ig- 
norant people who are slightly ailing, or think they are. 
They will take your stimulating tonic preparations; and 
"feel better" right away. They will believe they have 
escaped or been cured of some terrible disease, the symp- 
toms of which you should take good care to set forth 
vividly in your circulars. Henceforth, you have not 
only regular customers but those who will sign indorse- 
ments as strong as you can write them, and who will 



437 



talk up the wonderful virtues of your medicines to 
others. 

A dozen bottles or packages, costing less than a dol- 
lar, if given away in any neighborhood, will find one or 
two regular customers, and thenceforth you may depend 
upon the annual sale of a hundred bottles or parcels, at 
$i, $2, or $3 each. The price depends upon the skill you 
use in writing up the medicines. The druggist of the 
town, as your "agent," will help scatter the medicine if 
you give a liberal profit. If you set aside three-quarters 
of the receipts to cover cost of bottles, advertising, com- 
missions to retailers or agents, etc., you may have a net 
profit of say $50 a year from each town where your 
medicine is well introduced. If you only secure 1,000 
such towns in the whole country, you will get the modest 
income of $50,000 a year ! 

Do you ask, "Is this all true?" We answer, that this 
is a fair history of the patent-medicine business — with 
the variations of pills which give relief to some cases, 
and opiates, which under the name of soothing syrups, 
give quiet to young and old babies at the expense of 
future health. 

The amount of quack medicine literature distributed 
throughout the country is immense. In writing these 
circulars the ingenuity displayed in working upon the 
feelings of the readers and gradually leading them up 
to the point where they may decide to take the stuff, or 
die, is truly wonderful. 

Not less ingenious are the various inventions to ac- 
count for the discovery of the medicine. In one case 
it is Old Mother Noble who confers a boon upon the 



438 



world ; beloved Father John Apply accidentally chews 
the leaves of a bush and discovers his pancea, Israel 
Goodspeed goes to England, becomes a gipsy, and one 
day while upon the beach finds a bottle drifting ashore 
which he picked up, etc., etc. 

Anything and everything to gull poor weak-minded 
human nature into buying and swallowing Indian Blood 
Syrup, Mrs. Brown's Metaphysical Remedy, the Eclectic 
Health Restorer, and the hundreds of other fancifully 
named preparations that are warranted to cure every 
disease known. 

Our opinion of all patented and non-patented nostrums 
is this : If you have a mean, sheep-killing dog, which 
you are too tender-hearted to get rid of by cutting his 
tail off close behind his ears, make believe he is sick and 
dose him with any one of these advertised medicines. 
Caution,. Keep the bottles, boxes, or packages in a safe 
place where no human being can, by any possible mis- 
take, swallow any of the stuff. 

This includes each and every advertised medicine, 
lotion, bitters, soothing syrup, nerve antidote, electri- 
cal sure-cure, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., 
etc., — no matter how finely put up in glass or gilt par- 
cels. In this you have the opinion of Detective Wool- 
dridge, founded on much study and observation, and he 
has looked into medical science as much as most of the 
quacks in the country. 



PROFESSIONAL SAFE-BLOWERS AND THEIR 
METHODS OF WORK. 

As with other waves of crime, safe-blowing became 
epidemic, as it were, because of the notoriety and pub- 
licity given such matters by the press, and on account of 
the rich booty secured, together with the fact that the 
operators escaped. 




The principal incentive to rob a safe is found in the 
fact that it is generally known to be the repository of 
valuables, usually money, the booty most coveted by 
thieves. Money has a current value the world over, so 
that the thief who has money, no matter where he is, has 
a commodity that will find a market at any time. An- 
other reason for a thief preferring money to any other 
kind of booty is because there is little or no chance of its 
identification if found in his possession. 

PLUNDER NOT EASILY IDENTIFIED. 

Silver dollars, like coons, look alike. It is so with gold 
coin; there is nothing on any of them, gold or silver, 
peculiar in their respective denominations to themselves 



439 



440 



— they are all alike, and a positive identification, without 
some private mark, is impossible. 

Paper money may be identified by number and series 
letter, but persons handling enough money to warrant 
them in having a safe to place it in pay little or no atten- 
tion to letters and numbers, and therefore are scarcely 
ever able to identify the money stolen from them. Con- 
sequently the safe-blower does not run the same risk of 
detection as the pickpocket, the burglar, or other thief 
whose booty consists of jewelry, clothing and so forth, 
which, if found on his person or in his possession, en- 
genders strong circumstantial evidence against him. 

Again the vocation of a safe-blower is not necessarily 
a hazardous one. They operate in gangs, usually late at 
night or early in the morning when banks, offices and fac- 
tories are deserted save perhaps for the presence of a 
solitary watchman who is soon overpowered and silenced. 
They meet so few people during their operations that un- 
less they are caught in the immediate vicinity of the crime 
it is difficult to connect them with it. 

Safe-blowing, like legitimate industry, has advanced 
rapidly with the progress of civilization, and the safe- 
blower of to-day is totally unlike his professional brother 
of twenty years ago. The manufacture of chilled steel 
safes and other improvements, supposed to baffle the 
crafty cracksman, has made it necessary for them to 
adopt other methods and appliances from those used by 
the "peter" men of a few years ago. 

The rapid strides made in the manufacture of dyna- 
mite and nitroglycerine, with their compact form and 
high explosive qualities, have found favor with the safe^ 



441 




:ff 


Ssil 


t:>; 


VMS- 

4c. : sm 

mmm 


'■- ■ '':.'?■■■ 



lili; 



. ■■.-. . ;. ; ;■..,, : .■■■.■■ ■.;-, :■:■' ' '■ v , . ., " 



blower of to-day, and his "kit" is much smaller and his 
tools fewer than those carried by the professional cracks- 
man of previous years. 

MODERN SAFE-BLOWER AN EXPERT. 

The professional "kit" of early years was an expensive 
and cumbersome outfit. It consisted of highly tempered 
drills, taps, set screws, punches, clamps, together with an 
improved brace, and these tools had to be made by a 
trusty tool-maker, who commanded a price for his silence 
as well as for his labor. There was also the necessary 
candle, fuse, oil and powder horn which made a weighty 
as well as bulky package, and in addition it was likely 
to attract attention. 

The outfit of the up-to-date cracksman, however, is 
different. All he requires is a bar, or a piece of iron 



442 



of any kind, commonly called a jimmy, a drill and brace, 
a fuse, a four-ounce vial of nitroglycerine "soup," a ful- 
minating cap, a little soap or wax, and a few matches, 
then he is prepared to tackle the most improved "burglar- 
proof" safe with the chances in his favor, of getting into 
the interior. 

Safe-blowers never operate singly, but usually travel 
in gangs of three or more. Their reasons for doing so 
are, that one must devote his entire time and attention to 
the "box," another stands guard to prevent surprise, and 
the third, if nothing more pressing demands his attention, 
assists the operator, passing necessary tools as required, 
or putting in the "filling." 

As in almost every other kind of crime, they never go 
at the "mark" blind. One at least of the gang looks the 
ground over carefully — sometimes before it is intended 
to do the job. He notes the location and surroundings 
of the "peter," the position of lights, the location of doors 
and windows, and the nature of their fastenings, the cus- 
toms and habits of employes, the time the watchman or 
policemen make their rounds, the arrival and departure 
of trains, nearest car-line, and, in fact, everything and 
anything that has bearing on the place or people in the 
vicinity. Particular attention is also given to the day of 
the week or month the largest business is done, such as 
pay days, tax collections, etc. 

PLANS CAREFULLY LAID. 

With all this minute information, they get together, 
study the lay of the land as deliberately and carefully as 
a general on a field of battle. They lay their plans. First, 



44: 





to detail, as closely as possible, the modus operandi of 
the most opportune time is set. Next, ways and means 
of getting to the scene of action are considered. The 
train to take, what station they are to board it at, the 
car, and even the position in it each of the members of 
the gang is to occupy is settled, it being understood, of 
course, that they do not travel together. On their arrival 
they know just what side of the car to get off at, what 
direction to take, and where a conveyance, if one is nec- 
essary, can be found. Arriving at their destination, the 
pickets are distributed, the dangerous points guarded, and 
the handy man with the jimmy effects an entrance. Then 
the real work of the safe-blower begins. 

As previously stated the mode of procedure will de- 
pend whether the operator is an expert in the "old line" 



444 



or has adopted "modern" methods, so it will be necessary 
both. 

The old-line cracksman opens up his "kit," selects a 
sharp-pointed punch and, applying it to the safe, gives 
it a few blows of a hammer to make an indenture for 
the drill to get a hold. He next selects a drill, usually 
operated by a shoulder brace of rotary action, and with 
a little hard work and plenty of 'oil a hole, usually from 
Y% to ^s inches in diameter, is made. If it is the inten- 
tion to blow open the safe one or more holes are made 
around the combination, powder blown into them through 
a powder-horn or funnel by inserting the small end in 
the holes and blowing in the large end with the mouth. 

This forces the powder into the crevices, a fuse is in- 
serted, the operators retire to a safe distance and "touch 
it off." The effect is usually to force the door from its 
hinges, or destroy the combination so that it can be 
manipulated and the safe opened. 

WHEN AN EXPLOSIVE IS NOT USED. 

If, on the other hand, the door is to be forced without 
the use of explosives, a tap is inserted in the hole made 
and a thread turned . on the rim. A set screw is then 
fitted, and by means of a double-purchase wrench, usu- 
ally made from a piece of heavy iron with a square hole 
in the middle to fit the end of the set screw, and turned 
with both hands, or, if need be, by two operators, the 
inner sheet of the door is forced off. Sometimes a clamp 
is placed on the knob for the purpose of holding the drills 
more firmly than a shoulder brace. This is generally 
called the "safe-blowers' friend?" 



445 

The fellow with modern appliances knocks off the com- 
bination knob, drills a hole or two and stops up all the 
cracks with a combination of soap and wax of about the 
consistency of putty. This is used to make the safe air- 
tight, so as to get a proper concussion and prevent the 
explosive escaping. The explosive is forced into the 
opening prepared with a syringe, or allowed to soak in. 
This "soup'' is made by taking a quantity of dynamite 
and placing it in hot water to thaw and then abstracting 
the nitroglycerine, after allowing the water to cool and 
settle. The high explosive qualities, in some instances, 
of this "soup" do not seem to be thoroughly understood 
by the cracksmen, as is evidenced by the fact that on 
several occasions recently buildings have been wrecked, 
offices shattered and safe doors blown across rooms, de- 
stroying furniture and windows. This, of course, the 
safe-blower tries to avoid, because when a very loud ex- 
plosion occurs it arouses the people in the vicinity and 
makes escape more perilous, not to speak of the chances 
of not being able to get at the treasure box or to secure 
all the booty in the hurry to get away. 

The "get away," as well as the other features, has been 
carefully planned, and provisions are made for horses 
and vehicles close by. In several instances a hand-car 
has been used to get away from the scene of the robbery. 

Once away from the immediate vicinity of the crime, 
the safe-blowers "split out" and separate, taking the 
same precautions in getting away from the place as were 
employed in reaching it. 

Safe-blowers, when not actually engaged in their voca- 
tion, have about the same habits as other thieves. They 



446 



are not as a rule drinking people, however, but dress well 
and to all appearances do not differ much from the aver- 
age business man engaged in legitimate pursuits. 

THE USE OF ELECTRICITY BY BURGLARS. 

In this age of science and progress many wonderful 
things have been accomplished, and nothing has advanced 
faster or more steadily than electricity. Within the past 
twenty years it has given us the telephone, the automo- 
bile, and has been generally adopted for street railroads 
and other transportation lines, furnishing heat, light, and 
power. 

Of late much has been said and written in regard to 
the use of electricity by burglars. Many sensational ar- 
ticles have been published in the newspapers throughout 
the country, tending to show how dangerous a factor 
electricity is in the hands of an expert burglar. Bankers 
have been called upon to witness steel safe and vault 
doors pierced in a few moments with an electrode, shat- 
tering their confidence and alarming them in regard to 
the safety of the securities and valuables intrusted to 
them. However, there are always two sides to an ex- 
periment of this kind. 

STEEL CAN BE MELTED BY ELECTRICITY. 

The fact that steel can be melted by electricity is noth- 
ing new, and burglars have studied the question, Some 
twelve years ago a noted criminal, convicted of robbing 
a Southern postoffice, was serving a sentence of seven 
years in the penitentiary at Chester, 111. This man was 
known as one of the shrewdest, most daring, and success- 
ful safe burglars in the United States. He was of stu- 



447 




dious habits, and while in prison spent much of his time 
reading up scientific papers and studying the uses of 
electricity. 

When liberated from prison he went to a city where 
he was unknown, and obtained employment in the office 
of the city electrician, and while there he had ample op- 
portunity to experiment with electricity. Some months 
after his employment a party showed me a specimen of 
his work, consisting of two-inch pieces of steel melted 
in two. He left his employment and returned to his old 
life, and was operating with a gang of burglars. Ever 
since that time a careful watch has been kept for a bur- 
glary to be committed in which electricity would be used 
for boring into safes or vaults, but that burplary has 
never occurred. 



448 



I do not wish to state that burglars could not make 
use of electricity, but it would require the use of a very 
large storage battery, and it would be necessary to have 
a wagon and team haul same to a bank. This would 
not fail to attract attention. An expert electrician has 
stated to me that it is impossible to bore through more 
than half an inch of steel with an ordinary storage bat- 
tery, as the current instead of penetrating is diffused in 
the steel. It requires an expert to handle same ; expert 
electricians are not found in the rank and file of bank 
burglars. 



FIRST EXPERIMENT OF BLOWING UP A SAFE 

MADE AT PULLMAN, ILLINOIS. 

February 2nd, 1894. 

Upon invitation of Mr. George M. Pullman, the fol- 
lowing party of ladies and gentlemen accompanied him, 
in his private car at 3 o'clock this p. m., to witness the 
burglarious opening of a so-called burglar-proof safe, 
by Mr. William Corliss : 

Mr. George M. Pullman, Pullman Palace Car Com- 
pany, Miss Florence Pullman, Miss Alger (daughter of 
Gen. Russell A. Alger, of Detroit), Miss Swift, of De- 
troit, Mr. J. J. P. Odell, President of Union National 
Bank of Chicago, Mr. Byron L. Smith, President North- 
ern Trust Company, of Chicago, Mr. F. W~. Crosby, 
Vice-President Merchants National Bank, of Chicago, 
Mr. E. F. Bryant, Sec'y Pullman Loan & Savings Bank, 
Pullman, 111., Mr. Thos. H. Wickes, 2nd Vice-President 



STRICTLY BURGLAR-PROOF 449 




THE BANK SAFE. It looks as if nothing could force its 
solid steel doors. 



450 



Pullman Palace Car Company, Mr. Sweet, Private Sec- 
retary of Mr. George M. Pullman, Mr. Harvey Middle- 
ton, Manager of Pullman Palace Car Company, Mr. 
Parent, Ass't Manager of Pullman Palace Car Com- 
pany, Mr. Hornbeek, Superintendent of Town of Pull- 
man, Mr. Bushman, Mechanical Foreman of Pullman 
Palace Car Company, Baron von Fritsch, Florence Hotel, 
Pullman. 

The experimental station is a small model bank build- 
ing about 22 feet wide and 55 feet long, built of pressed 
brick and in conformity with the usual Pullman con- 
struction. The interior is fitted up just as if it were to 
be used as a bank, except that, there are no counters. 
In the rear portion there is a regular bank vault con- 
structed in the most approved style, the interior of wdiich 
is 8 feet wide, 10 feet long, and 8 feet high in the clear. 
This vault is provided with Corliss Patent Doors which 
open into the banking-room. 

When the party arrived at the Station the door was 
found to be locked and the building deserted. One of 
the enterprising burglars was on hand, however, and 
allowed the guests to enter. 

In a few words Mr. Corliss indicated the object of the 
visit, and introduced Prof. Charles E. Munroe, of the 
Columbian University, Washington, D. C, whom he in- 
vited to act as master of ceremonies. 

Professor Munroe then read a description of the safe 
to be experimented upon as follows : 

"The safe to be attacked is a Diebold Safe made for a 
bank and called Burglar-Proof. This safe has all the 



451 



modern attachments, such as Crane Hinge, Pressure Bar, 
Tongue and Groove, and three packed joints. 

"The safe is an excellent specimen of the laminated 
construction made of welded steel and iron throughout, 
with walls 3 inches thick and door 3^ inches thick, pro- 
vided with combination locks governed by Sargent & 
Greenleaf's double movement time-lock. 

The lower half of the interior of the safe is occupied 
by a steel chest of the usual construction, governed by a 
combination lock in the usual manner." 

Professor Munroe then proceeded to state that it was 
proposed to illustrate how burglars attack a safe, and to 
demonstrate that the prevailing system of laminated con- 
struction so long in use affords no adequate security 
when attacked with modern high explosives. 

In making this experiment the force to be employed 
will consist of four persons : 

One explosive expert, 
One expert mechanic, 
Two assistants. 

The expert in explosives and the expert mechanic were 
then introduced to the party by the professor, with the 
remark that the two assistants were assumed to be on the 
outside, guarding against any surprise. The Professor 
then explained that it was usual for burglars to steal 
certain implements, therefore it would be assumed that 
a neighboring blacksmith shop has been broken open and 

that two sledges, 

one jack, 
a few wedges, 
one monkey-wrench, 



452 



have been stolen; and from some stable nearby have 
been stolen 

four horse-blankets, 

a coil of rope, 

and from a neighboring wood-pile has been taken a half- 
dozen blocks of wood about a foot in length. 

These several articles were exhibited to the guests, 
and embraced all the apparatus to be used in making the 
test, save such as were carried upon the person of the 
explosive expert. 

The Professor then asked Lieutenant Rodman, the 
explosive expert, if he had all of his apparatus about his 
person. Receiving an affirmative reply, he asked in de- 
tail: 

"Have you the sealing wax?" 

Lieutenant takes it from his pocket and lays it upon the 
table. 

"Have you the brush for applying the sealing wax?" 

Lieutenant takes it from his pocket and lays it upon 
the table. 

"Have you the dish for melting the sealing wax? 

"Have you the alcohol lamp for melting the sealing 
wax? 

"Have you the matches? 

"Have you the corks? 

"Have you the detonating tubes? 

"Have you the funnel tube? 

"Have you the leading wires ? 

"Have you the detonators? 

"Have you the dynamite? 

"Have you the nitro-glycerine?" 



453 

In answer to each of these questions the Lieutenant 
took the articles from his pockets and laid them upon the 
table. A perceptible sensation was produced in the 
audience as the nitro-glycerine was placed before them. 

The battery for firing the explosive was carried by the 
Lieutenant in his hand, and was the only thing observ- 
able, everything else was concealed about his person. 

Professor Munroe then stated that a small charge of 
dynamite would be fired in the vault, simply to illustrate 
the process of firing and to show how quickly it was 
done, The charge being placed in the vault— the vault 
doors closed but not locked — the leading wires were car- 
ried to Miss Pullman, who touched the button and fired 
the charge. The report was inconsiderable, the effect 
upon the vault door, by the expansion of the gases and 
air, was imperceptible. 

The visitors were invited by the Professor to tho- 
roughly inspect the safe, after which it was stated that 
they could 'witness the process of charging the safe with 
nitro-glycerine and would then be expected to retire to 
the sidewalk, so as to be in the same relative position as 
to the operation as passers-by might be in case of an 
actual burglary, thus giving them a correct knowledge 
of the noise produced by the explosion and enabling 
them to judge whether or not it would be likely to at- 
tract attention. 

Upon the outside of the safe was printed the words 
/; Anti-Dynamite Devices," practically defying the bur- 
glars to make use of these means in attempting to open it. 

Attention was attracted to the series of three packed 
joints — which in the builder's opinion evidently constiv 



454 

tuted an embargo against explosives — and to the un- 
usually close fitting door, into the joint of which one of 
the spectators tried to introduce the edge of a blank 
check but found it impossible. 

The examination of the safe being completed, it was 
closed and locked in the presence of the guests, and the 
process of charging and wrapping it in blankets, to 
muffle the sound of the' explosion, was watched with 
intense interest. The charge having been introduced, 
all retired from the vault and banking room, the vault 
doors were closed — but not bolted — and the charge was 
fired. 

Although everybody was waiting intently for the ex- 
plosion, all were astonished that the report was so in- 
considerable ; the noise was no greater than would have 
been heard had someone within the building slammed 
a door; indeed, it was so slight that all agreed it would 
not have attracted attention, much less revealed the fact 
that an explosion had occurred. 

Upon entering the vault the safe was found to be 
thrown upon its side by the force of the explosion, three 
of its wheels were knocked off, and the two outside 
layers of the door were torn off bodily and thrown 
against the side of the vault ; the outside layer was 
found to be composed of 5-ply welded steel and iron 
one inch thick, — this plate was broken into half a dozen 
pieces. The jamb of the door was thoroughly disin- 
tegrated, the outside — at bottom and for about half way 
up the side of the door — was torn off completely. The 
bottom of the safe was almost blown out, and upon 
e^varnination it was thought that in a few minutes' time 



455 



it could be entirely removed by the use of wedges ; 
work was therefore commenced upon it with a view 
to stripping it off. After a few minutes' work a second 
charge, this time a very small one, was introduced and 
fired. This charge consisted of about half an ounce of 
dynamite. The bottom of the safe and the bottom of the 
inner steel chest were entirely removed in less than an 
hour's time. 

From the commencement of operations until the first 
charge was fired, 30 minutes elapsed. 

From the commencement of operations until the bot- 
tom was entirely removed, one hour and 27 minutes 
elapsed. 

This includes all the time consumed in performing 
the operation and making explanations, etc., to spec- 
tators. 

The opinion was expressed by many that "just a little 
more nitro-glycerine" would have opened the safe com- 
pletely with the first 'charge. 

Undoubtedly this is true, but it should be remem- 
bered that in making this attack we were doing it in the 
presence of an august assemblage, and it was much 
more necessary that we should do the work practically 
and neatly than that we should knock a safe to pieces 
at once, and perhaps create a noise or cause destruction 
that might place the operation — in the opinion of some 
of our guests — beyond the limits of practicability. 

The effect upon those who witnessed the operation 
was not only convincing but astounding ; they all seemed 
to appreciate the fact that the absolute insecurity of all 



456 



NOT SO STRONG AS WE THOUGHT 




THE SAME BANK SAFE, AFTER THE BURGLAR HAS USED 
THE DYNAMITE ON IT. 



457 

laminated structures was indisputably demonstrated. 
The ease, quickness, and noiselessness of the whole 
operation created a profound impression. 

SUPPLEMENTAL EXPERIMENT. 

FEBRUARY 8TII, 1894. 

In the first experiment, above described, it will be re- 
membered that the two outer plates of the door were 
torn off by the first explosion and that the balance of 
the door remained in place. It will also be remembered 
that instead of continuing the attack on the door, the 
bottom of the safe — having been practically knocked 
out — was removed. In order to demonstrate how easily 
the remaining portion of the door could have been re- 
moved the second experiment was made. 

The tearing off of the outer plates, left — as it always 
must in this built up construction — numerous screw- 
holes and projecting screws or bolts. Selecting two of 
these, wells of putty were made and about a tablespoon- 
ful of nitro-glycerine poured in, the charge was fired and 
the plates instantly removed. Time consumed — 9 min- 
utes. A similar charge removed the succeeding layers. 

Time occupied in removing all of the door that re- 
mained after the first charge (February 2nd), 25 
minutes. 

Mr. E. F. Bryant, Secretary of the Pullman Loan & 
Savings Bank, who was present, kept the time. 

The operation was also witnessed by Mr. Bushman 
and Mr. Wal!:er of the Pullman Company. 

It thus appears that had the door been attacked by 



458 

light explosives, as above, instead of attacking the bot- 
tom of the safe, the whole operation would have been 
performed with explosives, practically speaking, noise- 
lessly, in an hour's time. 

The accompanying photographs show the safe before 
and after the demonstration. 



RECORDS FAIL TO DEMONSTRATE SUCCESS WITH ELEC- 
TRICITY. 

It is a matter of record that up to the present time no 
bank robbery has occurred by means of the door of the 
vault or safe having been burned, bored or melted through 
the use of electricity, and I challenge anybody to show 
one case where electricity so far has aided in committing 
a bank robbery. The whole thing is a deception worked 
upon the public for the purpose of alarming bankers into 
buying a new burglar-alarm system. In this connection 
I do not wish to say that electricity has not been a great 
protective agent against burglars ; in fact it is the com- 
ing night watchman of the world. Mercantile houses, 
residences, banks, offices, etc., can be furnished with a 
burglar-alarm service operated so as to make it absolutely 
impossible for a burglar to enter the premises protected, 
but these appliances are not what are termed insulated 
or independent plants, which simply ring a gong in case 
the plant is tampered with. There must be a central 
office connection, with expert electricians in attendance, 
whose sole duty is to watch a switchboard for signals, 
and a corps of officers ready to respond to any signal of 
trouble coming in on one of the lines. In a country town 



459 



the line is connected with the city marshal's, constable's, 
or sheriff's office or residence. 

Electricity may be said to be in its infancy at present 
and somebody may not bring it to such a state of perfec- 
tion that it can be used to advantage by burglars, but I do 
that it can be used to advantage by burglars, but I do 
say that up to the present time no one has done so, and 
no one in the rank and file of burglars at present is ca- 
pable of doing it; it can only be done by an expert elec- 
trician with the necessary paraphernalia and a high-ten- 
sion current of sufficient voltage to accomplish the pur- 
pose, and not with an ordinary storage battery. To suc- 
cessfully carry out the project it is necessary to make 
arrangements with the engineer of a building, an electric 
light or power plant, or the trolley wires of the street 
railway company, as was done in Minneapolis some time 
ago. 

. SUGGESTIONS TO OWNERS OF SAFES. 

While dealing with the subject of safe-blowers and 
their habits, I would deem my efforts incomplete did I 
not mention some ways of preventing the successful issue 
of their operations. 

I am a firm believer in the old adage, "That an ounce 
of prevention is better than a pound of cure," and, there- 
fore, I would make the following suggestions to owners 
of safes: 

i. Do not have too much confidence in a safe — re- 
member that the best of them can be blown to pieces in 
a very few minutes. 

2. Do not keep large sums of money in it. 

3. If you must have a safe and keep large sums of 



460 

money in it, place it where it can be seen from the street, 
leaving a light burning in front of it all night. Inform 
the local police or patrol service that such a light is there, 
and it is intended to be kept burning. Instruct them to 
investigate when such is not the case. Such a light will 
enable the watch to see at a glance if anyone is tamper- 
ing with the safe. 

4. If you are in a city where burglar alarm connec- 
tions can be had have them by all means. And do NOT 
leave memoranda of the combination of your safe lying 
around, nor do not let more than two persons know your 
combination. In any event change it often. 

Owing to their secretiveness and cunning, safe-blowers 
are one of the hardest class of criminals to get "right," 
and unless they are caught in the act, or with the goods 
on them, it is very difficult to secure their conviction. 

SECRET SERVICE FUND NECESSARY. 

It is to be regretted that every chief of police, or head 
of a police department, has not at his disposal a good 
liberal secret service fund, from which he could pay for 
information regarding this class of criminals. Of course, 
such information can only come from someone in close 
touch with them, or belonging to the same calling, and 
my notion is that a good "stool-pigeon" of this kind is a 
source of valuable information and should be well paid 
for his services. A grave mistake is made by a great 
number of police officials in paying for information be- 
fore they get it. Never pay a "pigeon" until he delivers 
the goods and then you are certain he will not "throw" 
you. 



461 



In addition to what I have said in reference to appre- 
hending this class of criminals, I would add that in all 
large cities where safe-blowers sometimes operate, to my 
mind the best methods to be adopted are these : In every 
police station there are always a number of good, careful, 
hard-working, vigilant officers, well known to the lieu- 
tenant or captain of the precinct. Detail these men in 
citizen's clothes, with proper instructions how to act in 
looking out for this class of criminals going to and from 
the scene of their operations, and it will be only a ques- 
tion of time until they are apprehended. In dealing with 
this class of people I would always advise a police officer 
to have his revolver ready, and in good shape, as an op- 
erator will never hesitate to "get the drop" on a copper 
if he can. 

Safe-breaking is covered in most states by statute, 
under the classification of burglary, or entering a build- 
ing with felonious intent, the punishment being that 
provided for burglary. Nearly every state has a law 
relative to the possession of burglar's tools. 



TWICE STOLEN. 

September 23, 1893. 

John Brown, a stockman from Vinton, Iowa, came to 
Chicago with stock Sept. 20, 1893, and after disposing 
of it he concluded to take in the World's Fair and see 
the sights of the city. He was accompanied by a neigh- 
bor named Ralph Tuener. 

Having completed their mission the men were ready 
to start home on the night of the 22nd. On the way to 
the depot they passed along Plymouth Place, between 
Polk and Taylor streets, where they met Hattie Washing- 
ton and Josie Williams (Miss Washington was no rela- 
tion to the great George Washington). Both women 
were colored, as smooth a pair of pickpockets as ever 
went down the plank road. 

The women drew the men into conversation and 
picked their pockets. Brown lost notes, mortgages, 
money and his railroad ticket home, which all together 
amounted to $1,379.70. Turner lost his ticket to Vin- 
ton and $10 in money. Their loss was immediately dis- 
covered, and they grabbed hold of the women, who were 
making every effort to get away while the men were 
trying to recover their property. 

Detectives Wooldridge and McNulty, who were in the 
Polk street depot, on the opposite side of the street, were 
attracted by the loud talking and effort of the women to 
get away from the strangers, and knowing the character 
of the women crossed over the street just as the won?***' 



463 

had succeeded in getting away from their captors and 
had started to run. Both were overtaken and the prop- 
erty recovered. The women were placed under arrest, 
and taken to the lock-up. Sept. 26 they had a hearing 
before Justice Foster, who bound both to the grand jury 
in bonds of $500 each. The grand jury heard all the 
evidence Sept. 27, and voted a true bill. 

The state's attorney, through a mistake, neglected to 
keep the notes and papers to aid him in drawing the in- 
dictments. 

Wooldridge and McNulty took the property, which 
was held as evidence, to the Harrison street station, and 
turned it over to the desk sergeant, Dan Hogan, and saw 
him place the same in the iron safe kept in the station for 
that purpose. The state's attorney called the following 
evening to get the papers to aid him in drawing up an 
indictment, and upon search they were found missing 
from the safe. The envelope containing the propertv 
was sealed up and marked $1,379.70, notes, papers, etc., 
and was of no commercial value to any one except the 
owner ; a fact known to both detectives and the sergeant. 

It has always been supposed that some one seeing the 
$1,379.50 marked on the envelope took it, thinking it 
was money, and never had an opportunity to return it. 
There were several men who had access to the safe the 
day the package was missed, and it was thought some 
one of them took it. The matter drifted along for six 
months, and no indictment had been drawn, and Mr. 
Brown was pres'sing the detectives to know what had 
become of the papers. The matter was laid before Chief 
of Police Michael Brennan, who called for a full report 



464 PROFESSIONAL BEGGAR GRAFTERS 

which was made. The chief wrote to Mr. Brown. 
He had had his paper duplicated and dropped the 
whole matter, 



CHARITY VULTURES. 

How Professional Beggars Live Upon the Bounty of 
the City's Toilers, 

Within the deep canyons formed by the high build- 
ings of Chicago winds from the lake, chilled from con- 
tact with its cold waters, whipped with stinging force 
in the faces of pedestrians, fur-coated men and women 
drew warm wraps about their throats and bent their 
heads to avoid showers of sleet that were swept up from 
the street surface and down from the house-tops. 

Huddled on the sidewalk in a shapeless heap was a 
man. He seemed to be a poor, unfortunate cripple, leg- 
less and bent with rheumatism. Groups of pedestrians 
hurrying by the building could not avoid seeing the 
cripple. Had the sleet blinded them until they were 
opposite the man they could not avoid hearing him. 

"A penny, please," he whined, "I want to get some- 
thing to eat." 

A laboring man heeded the piteous appeal. "A 
penny, is it? Is that all ye want?" exclaimed the grimy 
handed toiler. "Well, here's a dime. Get something to 
warm you up." 

The laborer made headway in the storm, holding a 
naked hand at his throat to keep the folds of a shabby 



465 

coat between his roughened skin and the piercing wind. 
At his home were small children who might have had 
a bowl of soup for the dime. There may have been a 
passing regret in the worker's mind as he thought of 
the food value he gave the beggar at the expense of 
his children, but it was expelled by the reflection that 
he had bestowed charity on one more needy than they. 

"A penny, please, only a penny," again whined the 
beggar. His palsied hand held forth a tattered cap. A 
young woman in furs, on whose hands were later seen 
to gleam diamonds, stopped before the cripple. Her 
escort, a fashionably clad young man, was brought to 
a stop by a pull on his arm. 

"Ah, Charlie, look at the poor fellow, sitting here in 
the snow. Isn't that a shame?" cried out the impulsive 
girl. "Give him something." 

"Come on, the streets are full of such people," im- 
patiently exclaimed the young man. 

"Give him something," commanded the girl with a 
pretty pout. "Don't you know it is unlucky to pass a 
beggar without giving him something." 

"How much?" inquired the youth opening a pocket- 
book and putting his fingers on a twenty-five cent coin. 

"Stingy !" playfully ejaculated the girl. She took a 
larger coin from the purse and dropped it into the cap 
of the beggar, whose eyes gleamed with the pleasure of 
satisfied greed. 

An unseen witness watched the young woman and 
her escort depart towards the dazzling lights of a near- 
by theater ; then turned his gaze to the crouching form 
expecting to see the cripple struggle over the snow- 



±66 ' " 

covered walk to the door of a restaurant wherein he 
might feed his famished body. The watcher saw noth- 
ing of the kind. Instead the beggar put the money in 
his pocket and again extended his palsied hand, its skinny 
fingers extending the cap for further contributions. 

"A penny, please, only a penny," was the tremulous 
plea the cripple made to each passerby. A portly man 
emerged through the stone arch of the Stock Exchange, 
* drew his Melton overcoat with its fur collar about his 
round form and stepped into a waiting automobile, whose 
transparent partitions enclosed the heat of electric stoves 
and permitted the occupant to gaze out at those who 
battled with the storm. 

As the door of the tonneau closed the beggar snarled : 
"A pennly — only a penny — please." "Snarled" de- 
scribes the vocal tone of the beggar's expression. It was 
the snarl of the envious, the bitter cry of the unfortunate 
who bears the stings of storms, the ills of poverty, the 
pangs of hunger, and witnesses the bestowals of favors 
upon others — stronger, hardier, more capable of sus- 
taining life under hardship — favors bestowed by the soft, 
caressing hand of luxury. The door of the tonneau. 
snapped viciously as if the chauffeur resented the in- 
trusion of vulgar poverty on the affairs of his master. 
The auto steamed through the storm, its wheels raising 
clouds of feathery snow-dust that were borne by the 
winds like clouds steaming up from some subterranean 
fire. 

The keen gusts sought entrance through the tattered 
garments of the beggar and stung him as the lash of 
a whip. A file of shop girls fought the wind, their thin 



46^ 



skirts flirting helplessly about their ankles as they turned 
the corner. Two of them, with fingers blue with cold, 
opened worn purses ; took pennies therefrom and dropped 
them into the cap. The eyes of the beggar had hardened 
as the automobile sped away. As they filled with the 
picture of honest poverty sharing its meager store they 
softened and a hearty "thank you" fell from the cripple's 
lips. 

The appeals of the supplicant for alms sounded above 
the storm for an hour. The stream of humanity that 
flowed past deflected at times and hands naked and 
gloved, withered and old, young and muscular, jeweled 
and begrimed, soft, fat and white, representing many 
conditions of life from the half-starved to the glutted 
voluptuary whose donation was made out of a supersti- 
tious regard. for "luck," descended till within a few 
inches above the cap and fannies, nickles and dimes 
fell into the cap. 

The unseen watcher stamped his feet to keep the 
blood in them warm. He wondered how the attenuated 
body of the cripple kept its thin fluids from freezing.. 
The beggar glanced about furtively and then shifted his 
position. The watcher started. "So, that's the game," 
exclaimed the watcher. His words were half-audible 
and one of his acquaintances who happened to pass him 
greeted him : "Hello, Wooldridge ! What are you 
doing there ; watching some Get-Rich-Quick man ?" 

Detective Wooldridge — for this was the identity of 
the watcher — clutched his acquaintance by the arm and 
pointed to the beggar. 

"See that fellow?" he exclaimed. "If he had an 



468 7 

education unless it developed his moral side he would 
be a high financier." 

"What ! You don't mean that poor cripple ?" 

That the detective did mean the beggar .was plain by 
the revelation of the next moment. 

There was a break in the line of pedestrians. The 
absence of recording eyes and a necessity for seeking a 
warmer atmosphere prompted the beggar to extend a 
pair of cramped legs from under his crouched- body.. 
With a quick spring he was on his feet. In another 
moment he thrust his own form among those that pushed 
forward against the storm. He crossed the street and 
passed into a flood of light from a store in front of which 
Wooldridge had been standing in a darkened doorway. 
The detective advanced to meet the man. When the 
impostor brushed into the detective, Wooldridge grasped 
him by the arm.- The man sprang back as far as the 
length of the detective's arm permitted, but was jerked 
into submission by "due process of the law." 

"Here, what are you doing ?" demanded the man with 
assumed indignation. 

"Holding a rascal," retorted the officer, "and I'm 
going to see that he gets a taste of police court justice." 

"Now say, boss, let me go, won't you?" whined the 
beggar. "I won't get on your beat any more." 

"No, but you will ply your swindle somewhere else," 
replied the detective. 

The impostor pleaded, whined and abused his captor 
without avail. He was held till a patrol wagon arrived 
and wheeled him away to the Harrison street station. 
In the police court next day the impostor, who regis- 



BIG GRAFTER GOES FREE 469 

tered as James Maloney, was fined $10 and costs. The 
fine was not as much as the circumstances warranted, 
but the beggar's "graft" was spoiled, which was far 
more important. 

There are many Maloneys in every big city. When 
men of their character are cultured they become higher 
grade crooks. As long as they remain illiterate and un- 
polished they "graft" as beggars and petit "con" men. 

Maloney learned he had been watched during the 
hour he begged in front of the building. "Did you see 
the guy -with the automobile?" he asked the detective. 
"Dat fellow's got a bigger graft dan mine. I know a 
widow he skinned out of $2,000 by selling her worthless 
mining stock. He sells stocks and bonds to suckers and 
trims them for their life-time savings. I cadge a few 
dimes. He rides in his automobile and I ride in a patrol 
wagon." 

Maloney did not "go to jail" but paid his fine. 



INGENIOUS DIAMOND SWINDLES. 



"Instalment Dealers" Enrich Themselves by "Selling" 
Gems on Easy Payments. 

One of the most celebrated of the many get-rich-quick 
schemes that ever flourished in Chicago during recent 
years was the Interstate Mercantile Company, later known 
as the Keystone Commission Company. The head office 
of the company was in Buffalo, New York. The com- 
pany then moved to Danville, Pennsylvania and later to 
East St. Louis. 



470 



A branch office of this company was opened in Chi- 
cago in June, 1903, by William T. McKee. McKee was 
a young man about 35 years of age, clever, resourceful 
and of good address. He came from Carthage, Illinois, 
where his parents, who were highly respectable people, 
lived. After working for various firms, including nine 
months in the life insurance business, he met Mr. Samp- 
son, who was the head of the Interstate Mercantile Com- 
pany, Buffalo. After some conversation with him, Mc- 
Kee decided to open an office of the company in Chicago. 
The method of operation was as follows : 

McKee or one of his agents would go to a person 
who they thought would be a good subject and say that 
he had a plan by which diamonds could be obtained at 
less than wholesale rates by means of small weekly pay- 
ments. By paying $1.25 a week until $100 was paid 
in, the victim would be entitled to receive a two carat, 
flawless diamond, worth $200. After the victim was 
sufficiently interested to decide to go into the scheme, 
he was then told that he must pay $5 down and $1.25 
a week until the amount was paid. After this amount 
was paid, then he was presented with a unilateral con- 
tract "fearfully and wonderfully" made. It provided 
that if he failed to make one weekly payment he was 
to be fined 25 cents and if he became delinquent for two 
weeks, he was to forfeit all the money that had been 
paid in. When the entire amount of money was paid 
in he was then entitled to a diamond when the number 
of his contract was reached. These contracts were 
issued in series and were supposed to be numbered ac- 
cording to the time when they were received at the 



471 



home office in rotation and to be paid when the amount 
of money taken in by the company was sufficient to ma- 
ture all fully paid up contracts in their order, up to and 
including the one in question. As the number of the 
contract was left entirely to the company, they could 
arrange the time of maturity to suit themselves, so under 
this contract the person who paid in the money never 
had any specific time on which he could demand the per- 
formance of the contract. After a person had been in- 
duced to invest in this scheme, he was told that the 
greater number of contracts the company took the larger 
would be the amount paid in and the sooner the older 
contracts would be matured. They then urged every- 
body to get their friends to go into the scheme. This 
resulted in turning every contract holder into an agent 
and soon a golden stream was pouring into the coffers 
of the company. Small business people, barbers, tailors, 
laundry girls and dress-makers were going weekly to the 
office of the company and leaving their money. 

There was a provision in the contracts by which 
they could mature at an earlier period than the usual 
one, which was seventy-six weeks. The company 
judiciously matured a number of these contracts at short 
periods of 16, 32 and 48 weeks as a bait for "suckers" 
and to help push the business along. 

,By the terms of the contract they would not mature 
for 74 and some of them 94 weeks, thus giving the com- 
pany about a year and a half to work, and at the end of 
that time they could tell the contract holders that their 
contracts had not matured, and thus gain more time. 
During all of the time they would be reaping their 



472 

golden harvest. It seems that they calculated on about 
this length of time to exhaust the field. 

McKee remained at the head of the company until 
about as much money as could be obtained was paid in 
and the contract holders would be beginning to demand 
their money. When it was about time for the storm to 
break, he and a confederate that had been taken with him 
in the business put an advertisement in the papers of- 
fering a lucrative office business for sale and secured 
$125 from another "sucker" who bought the business 
at that price and left him to "hold the bag." The con- 
tract holders continued to pay to him and to demand 
their money on maturity until it finally came into the 
hands of the law and was closed, a notice being posted 
on the door which said, "You are all suckers." 

Before McKee left the office, Officer Clifton R. 
Wooldridge had been watching him closely. He had 
repeatedly told McKee that he saw through the whole 
scheme and advised him to quit, but inasmuch as none 
of the victims were yet ready to take action, believing 
that they would be paid upon maturity, he kept on, but 
when this sucker notice was posted on the door then 
everybody was ready to come and make complaints and 
to testify against McKee. A warrant was taken out 
and McKee was arrested and indicted for obtaining 
money by means and by use of the confidence game and 
for conspiracy to obtain money by means and by use of 
the confidence game. The case came on for trial before 
his Honor, Judge Windes, on the 18th day of December, 
1905, and was prosecuted by Fletcher Dobyns, Assistant 
State's Attorney. The defendant was represented by 



473 

the firm of Baily, Hall & Spunner. The trial lasted a 
week and was very hotly contested at every point. It. 
was shown on behalf of the prosecution that Mr. McKee 
and his confederates had represented themselves as men 
well connected, as men of property and under bonds. 
They had stated that the company was wealthy and 
owned more diamonds than Tiffany ; that the company 
owned a building in which their head office was located 
in Buffalo, New York, and that the diamonds were kept 
there, that the scheme had been presented to the State's 
Attorney's office and to others in authority and had 
been pronounced lawful and safe. Many other roseate 
representations had been made which were shown at 
the trial. In addition to the complaining witness named 
in the indictment, a large number of other victims were 
put on the stand to show the method and scheme of 
operation. The defendant after placing on the witness 
stand some of the most prominent men in Chicago and 
Illinois as to his previous good character, took the 
witness stand and declared that if it was a fraud he did 
not know it, that he thought it was a good scheme and 
would work out. The jury found the defendant guilty 
in manner and form as charged in the indictment. 

There were several interesting features connected 
with the trial. The defendant claimed that the company 
could have and would have met its obligations had it not 
been interfered with by the police, and stated that this 
was possible from new business and from lapses, He 
had stated to the complaining witness that experience 
showed there would be at least 56 per cent of lapses. H. 
S» Vail, an expert actuary of wide experience, was put 



474 



upon the stand by the state and showed that figuring 

from the history of insurance companies and other com- 
panies organized on the same principle that the percent- 
age of lapses would be very small, and that it was an 
absolute impossibility for the business to work out, the 
effect of his testimony being that the scheme was a fraud 
on the face of it to one who knew anything about the 
business. 

The defendant had stated to the complaining witness 
after having secured her contract that the company did 
not have diamonds and that the diamond was mentioned 
in the contract only for the purpose of avoiding the law 
as to lotteries, and that the real intention of the company 
was to pay money and not diamonds. The defendant on 
the stand stated that the purpose of mentioning the dia- 
mond in the contract was to make it a mercantile prop- 
osition. The court, however, instructed the jury that 
if the holder of the contract did not become entitled to 
its performance upon maturity or at some definite time, 
it was a lottery, and that if the contract was to be per- 
formed when a number was reached and that the num- 
ber depended upon the time that it was received at the 
home office or upon any other uncertain contingency 
then the same was a lottery, whether the contract called 
for a diamond or for money. 

As showing the position that the courts have taken 
in regard to schemes of this kind, many cases were read 
by the State's Attorney to the jury. Among them were : 

United States v. McDonald, 59 Fed. Rep., 563. 

State v. Nebraska Home Company, 92 N. W., 764. 

Public Clearing House v. Coyne, 121 Fed. Rep., 929. 



' ' 475 

State v. Interstate Saving & Investment Company, 
60 N. E., 232. 

The case that seemed to have the greatest effect on 
the jury was the case of Public Clearing House v. Coyne, 
which was a scheme similar to that of the Interstate 
Mercantile Company. In that case Judge Kohlsaat said : 

"The only source of increase upon the money paid 
in consists of money paid by new members. Thus, if 
the present membership is 5,000 and during the next 
five years 5,000 more members shall be secured, the 
realization fund will consist of what the present mem- 
bership has paid in, plus what the additional members 
have paid in, less 10 per cent. This would be equally 
divided among the original 5,000, while the new 5,000 
would have to realize from the new members thereafter 
secured at the end of another five years. Thus, the 
first 5,000 get nine-tenths of their own money back and 
in addition nine-tenths of the funds paid in by the new 
members at the end of the five year period. Should 
any of the members drop out, their money goes to those 
who remain. The first class feeds upon the second, the 
second upon the third, and soon to the collapse, a literal 
demonstration of the old saying, The devil take the 
hindmost.' It seems strange that material can be found 
to keep such a scheme going." 

Great credit is due Assistant State's Attorney Fletcher 
Dobyns, who tried the case, John M. Collins, the gen- 
eral superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, 
sent John J. Healy, State's Attorney, a very compliment- 
ary letter upon the good work from his office and paid 
Assistant State's Attorney Fletcher Dobyns a very high 
compliment. 



HUMBUG IN BUSINESS. 

Our American business methods are in a state of fer- 
mentation, the "humbug microbe" has been developed 
during the last quarter of a century to such proportions, 
that the reaction is bound to come; the scales are drop- 
ping already from the eyes of the public. The humbug 
I refer to is that method of promises of. gifts, premi- 
ums, etc., to purchasers of all kinds of wares. The 
greatest humbug of all is the scheme known as trading 
stamps. One of these firms has gone to the wall al- 
ready, others will follow — and it will be a good thing 
for the people generally if American business men will 
refrain from applying such questionable tactics to catch 
the unsophisticated. The people have to pay for what 
they get, the premiums included. Business men can 
not afford to make presents to their customers ; they 
charge them up for it in the long run. The purchaser 
pays dearly. For instance, the trading stamp humbug 
— many housewives, who, by reason of their husbands' 
limited income, cannot afford to exceed the expenditure 
of a certain sum weekly or monthly, go beyond the 
limit to be enabled to fill their books with trading 
stamps within a shorter period than what their pocket- 
books permit, simply to come in possession of the pre- 
mium. 

A vase, a rocking chair, or some bric-a-brac, which 
can probably be purchased for half of the price in cash 
than what the fictitious valuation amounts to, placed 
on the article by unscrupulous or "up-to-date" mer- 



476 



OF A DETECTIVE 477 

chants. This practice serves to catch suckers, particu- 
larly our better halves who do the shopping, look for 
bargains and come home with an empty pocketbook, 
but who think they have made good investments, where, 
as a matter of fact, more money has been expended for 
certain things than the particular family can afford. 
A waste of money is the result of this gift enterprise, 
money which could be applied to> more material ad- 
vantage by people with small means. This holding out 
of promises of gifts on part of the merchants induces 
the average man or woman to purchase more than they 
need, and as a consequence, workingmen, clerks, and 
frequently city employes, run short in their calculations 
and fall victims to the professional money lender; they 
run in debt. 

All their trouble not infrequently results from too 
great expenditures induced by the premium humbug. 
"Yes, but look at the beautiful vase" (charged up with 
$3.75), says the dear housewife, an article which, no 
doubt, could be bought for $1.50 cash. 

On an average it may be figured, that for the pur- 
pose of obtaining a gift in the value of one dollar, 
one hundred dollars has to be expended by the purchaser. 

Such is life— the world wants to be humbugged and 
as long as American merchants will resort to such meth- 
ods they will probably find victims, or in a little milder 
term, suckers. The species of the unsophisticated is 
not extinct; they will live forever, at least as long as 
unscrupulous business methods will be as general in 
this country as at present. 

This "trading stamp evil has assumed still more alarm- 



478 THE BAD MONEY GAME 

ing proportions among men than among the weaker sex, 
particularly among consumers of tobacco in all shapes 
and forms. The American Tobacco Trust, that octopus 
among the other trusts, has stretched its tentacles and 
with them it has a hold on the suckers that seems to be 
ironbound. 



COUNTERFEIT MONEY AND SAWDUST 
SWINDLERS. 

Sawdust swindlers pretend to have counterfeit money 
so perfect, that no one can tell it from the genuine. 
They are so called because in return for money privately 
sent for C. O. D. boxes of first-class counterfeit bills, 
the senders receive neatly put up parcels of sawdust 
or other trash. The thousands of victims of this swindle 
are not deserving of sympathy, for none but dishonest 
persons who wish to defraud their neighbors or the 
government by circulating what they believe to be per- 
fect facsimiles or imitations of real money, would ever 
send their money for this "queer" stuff. The money 
so lost is merely transferred from one swindler's pocket 
to that of another — and millions in the aggregate have 
been so transferred within a few years past. No 
counterfeit money has gone out. The operators escape 
free because their victims cannot appear against them 
without convicting themselves of an attempt to cir- 
culate counterfeit money. For the $10 to $100 remit- 
tances forwarded, nothing is ever returned, except the 
C. O. D. sawdust-boxes, to be paid for before delivery. 
Those who call at the dens of the operators are fleeced 



479 



by bogus policemen, who nab them as counterfeiters, 
and let them off after taking all they have, even to 
watches, etc., as hush-money ; or they pay for packages 
of good money, which are dexterously changed for the 
sawdust. 

It may be interesting to readers to have a specimen of 
the unblushing audacity of these counterfeit money 
dealers. The circulars sent out are, for the most part, 
the same; these are accompanied by a lithographic cir- 
cular or a loose slip of paper upon which is given a 
name and address. The names show a wonderful 
variety, but they are for the most part written in the 
same hand, and sent out with the same circular. Here 
is the bait : 

"In the first place, I wish to inform you that I am an 
engraver, and said to be, by those who are competent 
of judging, the most expert one in America. I have 
been employed by the U. S. Government for twelve 
years. I superintended the engraving of all the plates 
for the United States money. When the Government 
ceased to issue greenbacks my services were no longer 
required, and as soon as I found that my time was my 
own I conceived the idea of engraving a few plates 
for* myself and for my benefit, as I am well aware a 
man cannot become rich by working for a salary. I 
have just finished the work that I began almost three 
years since ; that is, the engraving of seven plates, which 
are exact duplicates of the Government's, namely : the 
One, Two, Five, Ten, and Twenty Dollar, and 
Twenty-Five, and Fifty Cent Fractional Currency 
plates. I have taken the greatest care in engraving 



480 __ . :. ._ 

these plates, and I defy any one to detect my counter- 
feits from the genuine. I use the same paper as the 
Government uses, as well as the same identical ink, 
and all my notes are correctly numbered and properly 
signed, all ready for immediate use. I assure you the 
goods are perfect in every respect and cannot be de- 
tected from the genuine. They have in several instances 
been passed over bank counters without exciting the 
least suspicion; it is therefore improbable that you will 
ever get in any trouble or ever meet any one who can 
distinguish them from the genuine. 

"I guarantee every note to be perfect, for every note 
is examined carefully by myself as soon as finished, 
and if not strictly perfect is immediately destroyed. 
Of course, it would be- foolishness for me to send poor 
work, as it would not only get my customers in trouble, 
but would break up my business and ruin me. So, for 
personal safety, I am compelled to issue nothing that 
will not compare with the genuine money. 

"I can furnish you with goods in any quantity, at 
the following prices, which will be found as reasonable 
as the nature of the business will allow. 

"For a $1,000 in my goods, assorted as you desire, I 
charge $100. 

"For a $2,500 in my goods, assorted as you desire, I 
charge $200. 

"For a $5,000 in my goods, assorted as you desire, I 
charge $350. 

"For a $10,000 in my goods, assorted as you desire, 
I charge $600. 

"You can see from the above price-list the advantage 



:....-..., -, 481 

of buying largely. You cannot make money as rapidly 
in any other business, and there is not the slightest 
danger in using my goods, one of the best proofs being 
that not a person doing business with me has ever been 
in any trouble, but, on the contrary, all are making 
money. I have no connection with any other firm in 
this country, and every dollar of my money is manu- 
factured under my own personal supervision — so in deal- 
ing with me you get the goods from first hands." 

Then follow various details, cautions, etc. Formerly 
these circulars insisted on transacting their business by 
express ; later they gave directions to the victim for 
finding the trap, but the latest dodge is to accompany 
the tempting circular with something like the following : 

"READ THIS CAREFULLY! 

"If you want to be sure and see me, and not be 
disappointed, follow these instructions : Two or three 
days before you leave home, write me when you will 
be here, and say what hotel you will stop at. Be sure 
to write me from home; do not wait until you arrive 
in this city and then drop me a letter, for you will save 
time by doing as I ask you. On your arrival in this 
city, go directly to the hotel named on the inclosed 
card, take a room and register your name ; go up to 
your room and remain in until I call. Remember, I do 
not know you by sight, so if you are around the hotel 
it will be impossible for me to recognize you, and I can 
only find you by calling on you up in your room. 

"When you arrive at the depot here there is no 
doubt but that you will be spoken to by strangers, who 
will try to make your acquaintance. Some will repre- 
sent themselves to be the party you are looking for, 
others will ask you what hotel you are looking for, 



482 

and when you tell them they will try and persuade you 
to go to some other ; and other men may ask you if 
you have received a confidential letter — but remember, 
not one of those men are the party you are looking for. 
Even if I knew you, and met you on the street, I 
would not speak to -you except up in your room at the 
hotel ; and as I will know from the letter you write 
me, before you leave home, when you will be here, of 
course I will be on the lookout for you, and will be 
waiting your arrival at the hotel. Any one mho speaks 
to you, have -nothing zvhatever to say to them*. When 
I call on you in your room, I will immediately hand 
you your letter, and when you see your own handwrit- 
ing then you will know you are dealing with the right 
party. Be sure to remember that any one who can^ 
not shozv you your last letter has no right to speak to 
you. 

"I have put you on your guard, and if you obey 
these instructions, you cannot fail to see me." 

If you have an atom of common sense you will avoid 
being "roped in" by these sawdust swindlers. If you 
are an honest man, there is no need to warn you. 



483 



DETECTIVE CLIFTON R. WOOLDRIDGE'S 

"Never=Fail" System 

FOR DEFEATING THE GRAFTER, 

TURF FRAUDS. 

WILD CAT INSURANCE. 

BOGUS SECURITIES, CONFIDENCE GAMES. 

CITY-LOT SWINDLES. 

HOME-BUYING SWINDLES. 

DISHONEST DEBENTURE BOND COM- 
PANIES. 

FRAUDULENT PROMOTERS. 

"SALTED" MINING AND OIL WELLS COM- 
PANIES. 

BUCKET SHOPS. 

BLIND POOLS IN GRAIN AND STOCKS. 

PANEL HOUSES. 

BOGUS MAIL ORDER HOUSES. 

POKER, FARO AND OTHER GAMBLING 
GAMES. 

MATRIMONIAL BUREAUS. 

COUNTERFEIT UNDERWRITERS. 

FRAUDULENT BOOK CONCERNS. 

DISHONEST COLLECTION AGENCIES. 

ADULTERATED MEDICINE DEALERS, 

WIRE TAPPERS. 

FAKE BROKERS. 

BOGUS CHARITIES, 



484 



SPURIOUS EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. 

SWINDLE PROMOTERS. 

MUSHROOM BANKS. 

CLAIRVOYANTS. 

FORTUNE TELLERS. 

PALMISTS. 

$1,000 REWARD WILL BE PAID TO ANY ONE 
WHO USES DETECTIVE CLIFTON R. WOOL- 
DRIDGE'S NEVER FAIL SYSTEM AND FAILS 
TO BEAT THE ABOVE SWINDLES. 

do not risk your money without having first 
carefully investigated the character of the 
enterprise in which you are invited to become 
financially interested. 

be convinced beyond all reasonable doubt 
that the men connected with the enterprise 
Are above suspicion. 

if their probity, integrity or reliability can 
not be established by past transactions it is 
certain their honesty will not be' disclosed 
by future dealings. 

do not invest in any company, corporation, 
or private concern until the management has 
fgrnished indisputable proof of its ability to 
fulfill every promise. 

LEAVE SPECULATION TO THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD 
TO LOSE. 

LARGE GAINS ON SMALL INVESTMENTS USUALLY 
EXIST ONLY IN THE IMAGINATION OF GULLIBLE 
INVESTORS AND UNSCRUPULOUS PROMOTERS. 

LARGE RISKS INCUR LARGE LOSSES. 

NO MAN WILL "LET YOU INTO A GOOD THING;" HE 
WILL KEEP IT FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FRIENDS. 

PROMOTERS ARE NOT IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MON- 
EY FOR YOU, BUT "OUT OF YOU." 



485 



CONTENT YOURSELF WITH LEGITIMATE INVEST- 
MENTS AND SMALL BUT SAFE RETURNS. 

RATHER THAN SEEK GREAT PROFITS WITHOUT TOIL 
STRIVE FOR THE DESERVED FRUITS OF INDUSTRY. 

NO MAN WILL GIVE YOU A DOLLAR FOR FIFTY CENTS 
—UNLESS THE DOLLAR IS COUNTERFEIT. 

DO NOT PAY OUT YOUR OWN GOOD MONEY FOR AN- 
OTHER MAN'S BOGUS DOLLARS. 

IF THE PROMOTER CAN DO ONE-HALF OF WHAT HE 
CLAIMS, HE WOULD NOT NEED YOUR MONEY, BUT 
SOON WOULD BE RICH BEYOND THE DREAMS OF 
AVARICE. 

DO NOT INVEST YOUR HARD-WON SAVINGS IN VAN- 
ISHING AIR CASTLES. 

PROMISES WHICH PROCEED FROM A DESIRE TO GET 
YOUR MONEY ALWAYS MERIT SUSPICION. SUBJECT 
THEM TO THE MOST CAREFUL AND RIGID EXAMINA- 
TION. 

ADOPT THE BANKER'S RULE THAT: "ALL MEN 
SHOULD BE REGARDED AS DISHONEST UNTIL THEIR 
HONESTY IS PROVED," RATHER THAN THE SUCKER'S 
THEORY THAT "ALL MEN ARE HONEST." 

THE BANKER WILL END LIFE POSSESSED OF 
WEALTH WHILE THE CREDULOUS OPTIMIST WHOSE 
FAITH IS UNBOUNDED WILL WIND UP HIS DAYS "A 
POORER BUT WISER MAN." 

WHEN IN DOUBT DO NOTHING. 

IF A PROMOTOR CAN NOT DISPEL YOUR DOUBTS HE 
IS NOT WORTHY OF YOUR CONFIDENCE. 

DO NOT FOLLOW SIREN CHANCE. SHE WILL LEAD 
YOU INTO THE ABYSS OF DESPAIR. 

BEWARE OF THE DICE; THERE IS BUT ONE GOOD 
THROW WITH THEM— THROW THEM AWAY. THEY 
WERE USED TO CAST LOTS FOR THE BLOOD-STAINED 
GARMENTS OF JESUS CHRIST; THEY ARE USED TO 
GAMBLE AWAY THE HONOR OF MEN. 

PLAY NOTHING, INVEST IN NOTHING, BUY NOTHING, 



486 



TRUST NO MAN OR WOMAN UNTIL YOU HAVE REASON 
TO BELIEVE THE ENTERPRISE IS LEGITIMATE BEYOXD 
QUESTION. 

AVOID THE MISTAKE OF THAT GREATEST FOOL OF 
ALL FOOLS, THE MAN WHO THINKS HE IS TOO SMART 
TO BE FOOLED. 

YOU ARE NOT SHREWD ENOUGH TO BEAT ANY MAN 
AT HIS OWN GAME; HE HAS STUDIED ITS MANIPULA- 
TIONS; YOU ARE A NOVICE. 

DON'T LET ANYONE STAMPEDE YOU INTO DOING 
ANYTHING. THE "RUSH" ACT IS A FAVORITE TRICK OF 
GRAFTERS FROM THE CHEAP CADGER WHO BORROWS 
SMALL CHANGE TO THE INVESTMENT BROKER WHO 
OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RISK A FORTUNE IN 
"THE CHANCE OF A LIFE-TIME" THAT MUST BE 
SNAPPED UP IMMEDIATELY OR LOST FOREVER. 

WHEN A MAN TRIES TO HURRY YOU INTO SPENDING 
YOUR MONEY, PUT IT BACK IN YOUR POCKET AND 
KEEP YOUR HAND ON IT. 

USE CAUTION, REASON AND COMMON SENSE. 

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO 
UNTO YOU. MOST OTHERS WILL "DO" YOU IF YOU 
GIVE THEM A CHANCE. 

IF YOU ARE MARKED AS ONE OF THE GEESE READY 
FOR PLUCKING BY GET-RICH-QUICK SWINDLERS THEY 
WILL SEND YOU LITERATURE THROUGH THE MAILS. 
SAVE EVERY CIRCULAR, LETTER OR OTHER COM- 
MUNICATION TOGETHER WITH THE ENVELOPES AND 
SEND THEM TO THE POSTOFFICE INSPECTOR IN THE 
TOWN FROM WHICH THEY WERE SENT. 

BE SURE TO SEND THE ENVELOPES WITH THE LIT- 
ERATURE AS THE COMMUNICATIONS CANNOT BE AD- 
MITTED AS EVIDENCE UNLESS THE ORIGINAL WRAP- 
PERS OR ENVELOPES IN WHICH THEY WERE MAILED 
ARE OFFERED WITH THEM. THE POSTMASTER WILL 
INSTRUCT HOW TO FORWARD THE COMPLAINT. 



528* 



PROSECUTION OF THE SWINDLERS WILL SURELY 
FOLLOW. 

IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF 
THE CONCERN WHICH INVITES YOU TO INVEST YOUR 
MONEY, CONSULT A LAWYER, BANKER OR REPUTABLE 
COMMERCIAL AGENCY. 

Intending investors should remember that: 
"SURE TIPS" are sure bait for sure fools. 
When you hear stocks have gone up and men who bought 
them cheap have sold them at high prices and gained for- 
tunes suspect your informant. If he seeks to induce you to 
invest be assured he is a GET-RICH-QUICK grafter. 

Many swindlers wear the garb of respectability; they even 
cloak their rascality with piety. Many men accepted by the 
world as honorable members of society spend their lives living 
on the credulity of the ignorant, and when they die go to 
the grave followed by hordes of dupes who mourn their end. 
These swindlers await you at every turn; on the race-track; 
in the saloon; with the poker deck and the ivory dice; with 
watered stock and fraudulent bonds; with prayers on their 
lips and designs in their minds to defraud you. 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN HONEST GAMBLER. 
Every gambling game is a dishonest scheme. You seek 
to get the other man's money without giving him anything in 
return. 

You are not entitled to one penny unless you give value in 
return. If you are in business you know that every promis- 
sory note, to be valid, must bear on its face two words, "value 
received." 

INDUSTRY, ENERGY, THRIFT! These are the dice that 
win. The lesson is hard to learn for the young. 

He has anxious days and feverish nights who risks at 
chance what should be devoted to the nobler ends of life; 
who "makes throws" on the green cloth; who watches the 
snake-like tape squirm out of the ticker; or gazes at a bunch 
of horses running around a ring. 

GIVE IT ALL UP AND ADOPT HONEST MEANS OF PRO- 
CURING WEALTH! 

*By actual count there are 528 pages in this book. This is made upby 
adding the unnumbered pages and pictures to the preceding number 497 " 



MAY 30 190*/ 



021 051 813 7 




CONGRESS 



